


Static Reflections

by Sleepy_fan



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Who Killed Markiplier? (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Manipulation, Multiple Endings, android suffering, second peron pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-21 17:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 47,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17646611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_fan/pseuds/Sleepy_fan
Summary: You are invited to a poker party, hosted by a friend of a friend. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. The Start

You check your watch - you don't need it, but it's for appearance's sake. It confirms what you already know. The autonomous cab had dropped you off at Markiplier Manor later than you had hoped it would - and the party was due to begin in less than five minutes. You take a moment to scan the building and the surrounding areas, frowning a little and double-checking that the anti-interference protocols were up and running correctly. Damien's childhood friends all had magic  and you were going to be meeting at least two of them, from what he had told you. He had called you, wanting to invite you to be his plus one to Mark's poker party, but you had informed him that Mark had already invited you to the party. The famous actor had even sent it to you on a paper invitation the beautiful calligraphy and ink insignia just as overdramatic as you'd come to expect from that particular childhood friend of Damien's. Not that you've met Mark more than a couple of times - as he was extremely busy, and you were never very far from Damien's side. As per your orders. Not that Damien was exactly aware of them...

You walk up to the door, spotting a man who - from the way he was dressed could only be one Colonel William Barnum. He turns to face you, as you walk up, a warm smile appearing on his face, though it was partially obscured by his bushy mustache. You also note that he was wearing rose-colored glasses, oddly enough. He greets you with a cheerful, "oh bully, and here I thought that I would be the last guest to arrive. My friends call me the Colonel,” he said with a small bow. "You may do the same, if it pleases you. But uh... After you." He step aside, gesturing towards the door.

You nod and smile, moving towards the front door as you speak. "I'm [Y/N] District Attorney, but friends call me just [Y/N], of course. It's wonderful to meet you, Colonel." You open the door immediately, and startle a little as there is someone immediately behind it.

A PL300 with dark curly hair. You tense up a little as you note his LED. You were always anxious when you first encountered other androids - as you were always worried that they might figure out what you were. "Ah, bonjour! Welcome to Markiplier Manor. Your invitation please,” the android greeted, not seeming bothered.

"Here you go," you respond politely, handing him the invitation. You had been sent to Damien, while the other had been going through university, by his parents. They had been worried that their son had gotten far too lost in the party scene, and would waste away his youth being drunk and enjoying himself instead of focusing on his future. You were sent in order to push him to be as successful as possible - so that he would be a shining star in either business or the political sphere. You were also to protect him, as Damien had magic, though he did know how to use his craft so he could protect himself as well. He was a very peaceful soul, and his parents had apparently been waiting for the opportune moment to present him to the wider magical community. Sadly, the Goodwin family had enemies, and you were to protect and help him in any way that he needed. You barely heard the butler talking about getting you a drink - as your focus was immediately centered on Damien.

Damien was speaking to a stranger as you moved further into the room, but he immediately turned to look at you, a small smile appearing on his face as he said, "oh there you are, old friend. How are you settling into your new office?" As he spoke he was fidgeting with the silver topped black cane in his hands, coming across as stressed or nervous perhaps.

You clear your throat a little, your thirium pump speeding up quite a bit. With the chaos of the Android demonstrations going on throughout the city, and the potential fallout of what might happen, there had been very little fanfare that a new Chief District Attorney had been appointed in Detroit. Then again, only Damien's parents and the small team at CyberLife that had created you and your line of androids was aware of what you were. Your model line was specifically created to withstand serving the segment of the human population who possessed magic. You were unsure as to how many of your model line was in service. However, your features had been specifically altered, on the request of Damien’s parents, who had purchased you for him secretly. You were terrified of what would happen if the truth were to come out, hence your nervousness with the android that had greeted you at the doorway. Mainly you feared that Damien would reject you though, above all else. Why would he want a gift from his meddling parents in the first place? Why would he want an android, and not even a normal one? Not that you were going to think of such things, as it would only stress your systems out unnecessarily. "I... It still feels so very sudden, Damien..." you finally said, replying to his comment on your new office. 

"Now, I know that it'll take some getting used to, but there's no one I'd rather have alongside me to protect this great city of ours. Now, I'll see you at the table soon. Try not to rob me blind again. We'll catch up," Damien responded back, walking off even as he spoke.

Would... Would he say that if he was aware that you were an android? You wanted to believe that he wouldn't think something like that... But why would he? Though androids were starting to gain rights, the vast majority of humans still thought of androids as tools... And that's what you were. A tool to ensure that Damien was protected and doing well in life. And he was - as a well loved and respected mayor of a major city. You wander around the manor a little,  immediately finding another android. You don't recognize the model - and he may have been custom altered. He growls at you, startlingly unfriendly. "If you're looking for hors d'oeuvres, I'll get 'em when I'm good and ready!" He walks towards the other doorway, whirling around and waving a silver ladle threateningly at you. "Stay out of my kitchen!" he barked.

You take a couple of frantic steps back, startled by the hostility and trying to come up with why the other was being so hostile. Before you could try to respond to the other’s words, the butler called out, looking scandalized or maybe worried, and definitely irritated. “Now,  now don't be rude to our guests,” the butler scolded.

The chef scowled and stomped off, muttering irritably under his breath. “Fuckin’ rich assholes.” he complained as he moved away.

You were still rather startled by the other android’s hostility. If the other had been a soldier or a bodyguard model, his hostility would have been more than understandable. Especially as there were a bunch of people invading his master's home - even though they'd been invited in. Then again, you couldn’t guess if either of them were multi-purpose androids as well, which was another explanation you had to consider.

"Here's your champagne." the butler responded with a small smile on his face, handing you a glass. Clearly, no one had any suspicions yet if you were being offered a drink. 

You were very careful not to touch his fingers, wary of accidentally brushing your fingers with his and starting an accidental interface with the other. You noted that though the other was an android he didn't have an LED. Neither he nor the chef did but the steady beats of their thirium regulators were clear to you, rather than the subtle but clearly different sounds of a human heartbeat. "Thank you," you murmur quietly, knowing that it would be strange if you refused the drink.

Mark comes down in a red silk dressing gown - oddly enough covered up on a fairly warm October evening under several layers of clothing. You were tempted to run a scan - but he was a bit far away for you and besides... It would be a breach of privacy. The way he talks is worrisome, particularly how he finishes his greeting with an almost manic, "life is for the living. After all, I could be dead tomorrow." The way he laughs is... Concerning to say the least.

But everyone is drinking and smiling, though the alcohol that you drink down doesn't do a thing to you. The fact that Damien, William and the bearded man dressed like an old-timey detective all have magic and are in various states of magic does mess with your systems though the runes that had been carved into your metallic chassis (and showed up as tattoos on your synthetic skin) protected you fairly well - the night was a dizzying blur of sights and sounds - the lights far too bright - and at a couple of points you're very worried - as the Colonel has a gun and is waving it at the detective - and at his own head. Despite the fact that your often-ignored program says that you shouldn't encourage this, you laugh and cheer Damien on, as he attempts to do a keg stand at another point in the night. He really seems to be enjoying himself - all of them do. But where... Where was the host?

At one point, you flip off the butler although why you're simulating such rage at the other, you're not quite certain. The lights and sounds and the magic of the humans around you is causing you to lose control of your emotional programming. At another point in the evening, you end up on the floor, your jaw registering a blow -  had one of the other guests hit you? You blink, trying to get your uncooperative limbs to move but Damien's face is hovering above you, worried, though he was thoroughly drunk. You can barely hear his words over the crackling static of almost too-much ambient magic in the area, only making out a, "-okay?"

"Da... mien?" You manage out, praying that your voice doesn't sound like a dying recording, that your voice isn't full of the static that you hear in your audio receivers.

"Good, you're still with me, Y/N," Damien says, touching one of your shoulders, and the static dying down a little. But you're still mostly just reading his lips, the other's soothing voice echoing from previous memories along with what you can pick up in the moment. "I think it's time that you go to bed."

"I... But what 'bout you, Damien? You should... go to bed too... Maybe you... could come with me?" you ask, sitting up and then standing at the other's gentle pushing on your shoulders, and tugging on your arms. Silent commands  and ones you were only too happy to follow. You know you’re slurring and talking weirdly, but at least it helps with your human facade. 

Was the blush on Damien's face getting darker? Or was that only your wistful, greedy wishes? Not that you should want anything. You're a machine. Meant to protect and serve him in any way he needs or wants... But... That was part of why you asked? Maybe it was just the light or the alcohol. He clears his throat a little, and responds with a quiet, "I... I'm not sure... You've had quite a lot to drink, Y/N. Both of us have. I'll get you up to bed, and I'll be headed to my room immediately after. My precious little monster."

There was affection in his voice, warmth in his pretty dark brown eyes, and something twists hard and painful in your chest. You swallow, remembering to do your best to continue to breathe, despite not needing to. Not breathing would worry Damien, and possibly blow your cover., but would that be so bad? You wanted to believe that he... That Damien might not react badly to finding out that you were an Android but your orders were to keep your identity as a machine a secret from him, and that particular dark red, glowing wall you had not the strength to break down. You perk up at the affectionate nickname, grinning and feel yourself blushing - a fake rosy hue (a useful feature) as you answer back happily,  "okay. Rawr. I'mma eat up anyone who stands in your way, Damien. Jus'... Point me in their direction an' they... They go bye byeee!" You meant it too, even if the way it came out was strange. Your systems still weren’t cooperating that well.

The amused and patient expression on Damien's face, however, shows that he doesn't believe a single word that your saying. "I'll keep that in mind, Y/N," he says instead, playing along with what he believes to be a drunk human. 

You would pout a little, but as you can barely stand on your own two feet, and rely heavily on Damien's warm arm around your waist as the two of you stumble upstairs to the room that you've been provided, you suppose you should only seem thankful for all the help he’s giving you. Damien's warm hands help you flop gracelessly into bed. You're tempted to reach out to him, to pull him into bed with you but that might make the other uncomfortable, and you were in desperate need to go into standby mode  in order to clear the magic from your systems and be able to function properly. The last thing that you see as your head hits the pillow is that the clock on the bedside table next to you says 1:30, and then the world fades to black.

~

At the sound of an alarm, your eyes snap open, sitting up as you stare at the clock on your bedside table. 8:30. Judging by the light coming through the window from the hallway, and from your own internal sensors, you had been in standby for seven hours. That was almost twice the length that you were usually in sleep mode... But as you were still trying to recover from dealing with four magical and highly intoxicated humans (had Mark drunk any alcohol last night? You couldn't quite remember... And you were rapidly getting very done with staying in this manor. It sat on the crossing of two... Ley lines, as the humans called them, and the ambient magical energy of this place was much higher than in most parts of the city), you weren't... Entirely surprised that you had been down for so long.

You stand up, straightening your clothes a little and step out into the hallway, the butler standing a couple of feet from the doorway. He greets you with a cheerful "Ah, good morning. Hope you've had a good night's rest. I've prepared for you a seltzer with cocaine. The best thing for the morning after, if you asked me." He finishes his statement with a wink, one gloved hand extending towards you, a cloudy-white beverage in it.

"I..." Before you could try to say no to the drink, the butler leaves, with you holding the drink and Damien staring out over the railing. You stare briefly at your drink, trying to figure out what to do with it.

As you walk closer to Damien, he turns around, smiling warmly and speaking cheerfully - voice light and a little teasing "Ah, there's our little monster! You really knocked 'em dead last night. I haven't seen you go wild like that since our days at university. Good to let the beast out every once and a while, eh, old friend?"

You groan quietly, knocking back the drink and unable to resist the temptation to cover your face with your free hand, processor desperately trying to reach backwards in time, trying to figure out just what exactly happened last night. All you still could remember were bits and pieces that made little sense. "I... I suppose. I just hope I didn't do something really dumb."

Damien smiles at you again, shifting closer and gently squeezing one of your shoulders, saying "Nothing more embarrassing than when I was coaxed into doing a keg stand last night." The other's smile fades a little, and he glances away, looking worried. "Then again... I'm-I'm still not sure as to what we're supposed to be celebrating here. I mean - it's good to have the gang back together, but... Out of the blue like this seems..." The human frowns, looking down and away from you for a couple moments longer, before looking directly at you, and smiling a little "Anyway, now is not the time to become conspiratorial. Life is ours to choose, as I always say. I have some work to finish, but I'll meet you at breakfast. We'll all catch up soon." Damien walks off - possibly back to his room - after he finishes speaking.

You were about to offer to help him - as an order popped up to do just that... But the analysis of the drink that you'd consumed came crashing to the forefront of your mind. It was not seltzer water with cocaine - or any other substance... But rather... It had been thirium with the blue dye removed. You needed to find the butler, immediately. You still couldn't remember much of anything last night - and you needed to find out from him whether or not your cover had been blown. Damien... Damien had treated you the way that he always had - but as far as you were aware... Your master was completely unaware that you had been gifted to him by his parents. He still did not speak with them very often - not wanting them to meddle in his life, or make disparaging comments about who he was, and what he chose to be.

You make your way down the stairs - which are steep and curving tightly with the curve of the manor. Your mind is racing as you try to calculate all of the different possibilities as to why the other android had offered you the thirium. Was it simply because he had figured out what you were, and knowing how the inebriated magical humans affected him, offered you additional thirium - which you had needed - in order to be back to close to your optimal running performance? Or had you somehow revealed yourself to be an android to everyone at the party? 

Or at least to some of them... If the former were true and... Did that mean that Damien did not care what you were, and could see that you were the steadfast and loyal friend that he had always seen in you? Something lurched and twisted in your chest - and you ran a quick diagnostic. Everything was running perfectly - besides, you shouldn't be feeling these emotions, anyways. You were a machine, and machines didn't have feelings. Or was just the Butler - and perhaps the chef? Aware of what you were.

You reach the downstairs - barely registering the actual full set of knight's armor, walking into a main downstairs room, when a crack of thunder reverberates through the room, and something pink flashes past your peripheral vision swiftly You turn to stare at Mark's dead body, lying on the floor. It hadn't been there moments ago - where had it come from? It wasn't as if you were standing in a room that was open to the second floor...

Before  you could do anything but stare at the body - part of your programming already calling the police, when you hear one of the other guests - the man who was dressed like a police detective - ask "Did anyone hear that lighten- OH MY GOD! THERE'S BEEN A MURDER!" there was another crack of thunder at the end of the other's statement.

You grit your teeth a little, feeling as if forcibly struck by something at the moment that the peel of thunder shakes the house. Something was Wrong - and more than just because of the fact that Markiplier was dead - possibly killed. The connection that you had internally established with a police dispatcher was very nearly severed - but you were able to send the dispatcher the necessary information. “Apparently so. But screaming won’t do anyone any good.”

The butler came walking in, one hand raised, looking at the detective as he asked "Excuse me, did you hear light- Oh my god, murder." The other android rushes past you as another rumble of lightning crashes around the house, the light causing the room to brighten momentarily - likely to check on the body of his late owner.

The chef arrives, asking "Did you-" He cuts himself off, looking almost comically shocked, screaming "MURDER!" as he pointed at the body of his former owner. More lightning flashed and thundered around the house.

The detective - whose name you had been given, but you couldn't quite remember as your memories of what had happened last night were still patchy at best - lunged towards you, growling as he held you by the collar of your dress shirt "What the hell happened here? Who's in charge here? Trick question, that guy." The human hissed, gesturing at Mark's dead body as he let you go.

You glance down at Mark's body briefly, dozens of different things to say on the tip of your tongue - but you found that it was impossible for you to say anything, paralyzed by indecision and genuinely confused as to how Mark had been killed. There was also the fact that the detective's magical aura was also distorting your senses a little. You frown a little at that - the runes that had been carved into your metal exoskeleton protected you from such things - but... There was an underlying... Darkness in this place that you couldn't quantify the source of.

"And he's dead now, which means I'm in charge now. So you better listen up good, bucko. 'Case you haven't noticed, there's been a bit of a... Killin'." The detective continues to growl, glaring at you with open suspicion.

There is no rumble of thunder, or crack of lightning - something which causes you to begin to suspect that the unexpected lightening and thunder was for a specific reason... Rather than because there was a storm outside. You glance at the chef, who looks up at the ceiling, looking as contemplative as you feel.

The detective looks around for a moment as well - possibly catching onto the fact that the lightning hadn't struck then, either. He started to speak, still just as gruff and suspicious as moments before "And you're my prime suspect! So you better get to explaining right quick as to the what, where, when and why you happen to be here upon this man's death!"

You've frozen up entirely. You want to tell the human that you just so happened to walk into this foyer first, and that Mark's body had dropped from... Somewhere onto the floor right by where you were. It made no logical sense - but this place had high magical energy readings - and all of the still living humans possessed magic as well - so perhaps he would be a bit more responsive to less-than normally-understandable explanations.

Before you could try to begin to talk, the butler speaks up, voice calm and concerned "Sir, the body is cold. He's been dead a while."

The detective chuckles - possibly sarcastically? - and snarks back with "A likely story!" His face changes, and the other appears to be much calmer now. "That I happen to believe completely. Alright you're off the hook for now, but I'm a detective, and -" He seems far less suspicious of you, but still not completely at ease.

The chef taps one of the other's arms, cutting the human off as he speaks (startling you a little - it's an oddly aggressive move for an android... Then again, the other has just lost an owner he's been serving and this human is acting aggressive). "Oh yeah? Prove you're a real dick!"

The human rolls his eyes, as he digs a badge out of his bathrobe packet, snapping back with a "Here's my badge. Asshole." He shows the Detroit Police Department badge first to the chef, then to you. As he shows you the badge, at least a dozen photographs attached together hang in the air. You scan the photographs - and from what you're searching the online database that you have a partial connection to, all of the other officers are dead. Detective Lincoln continues talking, before you or anyone else in the room can get a word in edgewise "Ah, those are my old partners. Don't ask me about them."

"A-" You start, about to do exactly the opposite of what the human asked you to do, as you suspect that there might be something in regards to the fact that the other has so many ex partners.

"Fine, I'll tell you!" Detective Abraham growls after a moment, staring at the pictures before looking back at you "Each one of them died. Each dead more tragic than the last. Some of them died in ironically hilarious ways. Which made it all the more tragic."

You glance over at the chef - who looks a little skeptical... And uncertain about the police detective. "Oh." you find yourself saying "My condolences for your losses." it's not the best thing to say - but it was the only dialogue option that popped up that wasn't defensive or suspicious of the other's words.

"But hey, you look like you're up for the task. You're my new partner!" Abraham responds, sounding a great deal more cheerful than before.

You silently shake your head - you don't want to get any more involved in this murder investigation than you already are. At least not obviously - though you are determined to figure out who did kill Markiplier. In order to ensure that the killer was brought to light - whoever had killed him who wasn't Damien of course. Any evidence that suggested that the mayor was the possible killer would be... Irrelevant, obviously a ploy on the killer's behalf, in order to slander Damien's good name.

The detective laughs, grinning a little as he responds with "That's what my old partners used to say. Right before they died." The detective's smile falls a little as he remembers something. "Alright, hand me that fingerprinting kit behind you, partner." He winks at you as he says that.

You glance briefly at the chef - who looks... Concerned. You really don't want to work with this detective - as though he has some qualities that could be considered charming... There is a... There's something almost threatening about the other. You're also not convinced that Detective Lincoln believes that you weren't the one who killed him. Perhaps he just wants to keep you under closer observation? "Fine." you grumble as you scan the couch, finding the kit and handing it over to the other "Here you go." Why did he just so happen to have a fingerprinting kit on him? That seemed... Strange to say the least.

"Thanks partner." Abe says as he takes the kit and... Throws it on the floor.

You accompany the butler and chef as they pull out several lamp posts, setting up a perimeter around the body. Abe create a holographic warning tape line, as the butler leaves briefly, finding a sheet to cover Mark's body. You stare at his covered form, wishing that you had more forensic programming - you might be able to ascertain what happened to Mark that way (although trying to come up with how you knew that without being thought of as the murderer - and also not revealing yourself as an Android would be... Difficult at best). you hear measured footsteps - your heart sinking as you recognize the walk.

Damien walks in, staring at the scene before him before asking "What the hell happened here?"

The butler responded with an apologetic "Oh! Mr. Mayor. I'm so sorry. There's been a murder." Lightening and thunder sound just as the other android speaks the final word.

Damien frowns a little, staring down at the body, asking softly "A murder?" Another rumble of thunder and flash of lightning silence the room for a moment before the mayor asks, gesturing slightly towards the body "Who?"

The chef shrugs a little, answering with a matter fact "It's Mark."

Abraham confirms quietly, as he looks up at Damien from where he'd been examining the body "I'm afraid he's telling the truth. Mark's been... Killed." There was no lightning or thunder at that word, and you look at your owner.

Damien looks worried and unhappy as he asks "Why? Who would do this?"

"That's exactly what me and my new partner here are going to find out." Lincoln responds back, gesturing to you as he spoke.

The butler speaks up, looking uncertain "Uhm, excuse me. I feel like we should call the authorities and let them handle the matter."

"Look buddy, as far as you're concerned, I AM the authorities." Abe growled out, showing the servant Android his badge - and the long string of pictures of former partners falls down as he does so. "The fact of the matter is, I believe that the killer is right here amongst us in this very house. With that freaky lightning storm outside, none of us would get very far, anyways. So, in the meantime, we're stuck here. But I'm going to get to the bottom of this." The detective is surprisingly authoritative and calm, and he points at the others in the room (apart from you) and orders "The rest of you, get back to your rooms, hunker down, and pray to God you're not next to be murdered." lightning flashes and thunder reverberates around the room, as if to punctuate the seriousness of what the other was saying.

You fidget with your hands a little, clearing your throat as  you speak up "I... I've already contacted the police, actually. As soon as I found Mark's body I called 911 and reported finding him. I don't know when they'll arrive. I wasn't aware that you were an actual detective, rather than simply dressed similarly to one, Detective Lincoln."

This was met with awkward silence and you stare at the floor rather than look at anyone else, hoping that no one would ask for your cell phone for proof. You actually had one, to aid in seeming to be more human, but the history would reveal that you'd made no such call.

The butler spoke up, breaking the tension somewhat "I'll... I'll check on the other guests." He ducks under the holographic tape, rushing off - to fulfill his objectives.

"I'll get back to cooking. All this death made me hungry." The Chef responds - an odd thing to say, as androids could not and didn't eat - but perhaps the other had intended it to be a joke, to diffuse some of the tension. He leaves the room after he finished speaking, intent on going back to the tasks that he was created to do.

You look at Damien - who is fidgeting with his cane and understandably shaken up about the sudden and probably violent death of a childhood friend. "I... I need to talk to the colonel about this." You move a little closer to him, wanting desperately to reach out, to try to console him but...

You're just a machine. The comfort you could provide would pale in comparison to the solace that one of his remaining childhood friends could give him, which causes you to still as you watch him leave the room, thirium pump beating faster and strangely irregularly. You stare at the hallway that Damien had left through, lost in calculations and struggling to deal with the twisting, awful sensation that is clawing its way through your chest.

Abe speaks up and you look down at where he's still kneeling over the body. You join him kneeling over the body as you watch him speak - uncertain as to whether or not you can even trust this detective.  You welcome the distraction, focusing on what the human's saying "Alright partner, it's time to get to work. Judging by the temperature of the body that I measured rectally, which is obviously the most accurate way to get the inner temperature of a corpse. That's a fact, totally procedure." He's holding a magnifying glass and looks at you briefly before looking back at the body, continuing with "Don't tell anyone I did it. I am sure that Mark died at 1:30am last night." The detective suddenly stands up, pointing accusingly at you as he demands "So what were YOU doing at 1:30am last night?" He winks at you as he asks - which is... Strange and confusing.

You close your eyes briefly, before responding honestly "Damien had just helped me get up to my room. I was starting to fall asleep at that time - I remember as I looked at the clock just before I fell asleep." Not that you were sleeping, so much as going into stasis. But most of what you were saying was completely true. You slowly get up, so as not to startle the possibly hostile human.

Abraham squints at you, sounding surprised and confused "I'm going to ignore the strange fact that you sleep with your eyes open. But it checks out. So we need to where everyone was and what they were doing around that time, or at the very least, who saw Mark last." The detective looks around for a moment, before looking back at you again "You need to get out there. See if you can piece together the story of what happened last night. I'll stick around the body and run more... Tests." He sniffs two of his fingers deeply as he speaks, kneeling back down over the body. "It's likely that whoever is sent out to investigate the case - if they make it to the house in this damned thunderstorm, will take the case away from us, as we're both technically murder suspects and quite possibly witnesses. But that's no reason to stand around while there's a killer on the loose! God only knows how many of us the bastard will end up... Killing before backup shows. It was smart of you to call this in - but I'm worried that our killer might escape if we don't push the others for information."

You nod in understanding, determined to figure out what was going on. You walk towards one of the two staircases - as you know that everyone was staying on the second level to sleep. You pause by a partially open door, as you hear Damien's voice - angry and hurt "Oh, how can you be so flippant?"

"Flippant?!"The... Colonel? Yes. Your vocal recognition software registers the human speaking as the colonel "I'm taking this very seriously."

"Oh, don't give me that horseshit!" Damien snarls back, making a sharp, irritated gesture, glaring at the colonel - who you can't see at the moment from your position eavesdropping at the door "I know that you hated him, but... Goddammit, he reached out to you!"

You creep closer to the door, resting one hand on it as you listen intently to the two of them arguing. Your stress levels are rising, and you are torn between walking into the room to get closer to Damien - and intervene if necessary - and to hang back and listen to their argument - as Detective Lincoln had given you orders to figure out who the murderer was. You are quite certain that Damien was not the killer - but you knew that you needed to remain objective in order to find the true killer. If Damien had been the one to strike the fatal blow, you had pre-existing protocols in place for that. You would confess to killing Mark, reveal yourself to be an android... Maybe you would claim to be one of those... Deviant androids that you'd been hearing rumors of. There had been a couple of incidence where an android was rumored to have had killed - or kidnapped - a human, its programming unstable. You would claim to be a Deviant - maybe disgusted at the fact that the actor owned androids and wanting to free your fellow androids from servitude. Something dramatic like that, to protect your master. Not that it was likely that the kind and compassionate human had killed Mark - or if he had, it was likely out of self-defense.

"Oh, what do you want from me, then?" The colonel responded, sounding even more irritated and defensive than before.

"Wh- I want you to care!" Damien yelled back, voice raw with grief and distress, his face twisted in an expression of unhappy misery.

"Just because I'm not weeping like a child doesn't mean that I don't care." William snapped back.

Damien opened and closed his mouth once before responding, voice quieter, but still full of hurt and stress "I... I can't believe you." There is a certain amount of resignation on the mayor's face as he spoke, and you're a little stunned at what the other had said. "You come find me when you pull your head out of your ass!"

Possible scenarios and reasons as to why Damien - who generally believed in the best of people and especially those he considered friends saying something like that was... A shock to your systems. You suspected that some of what he was saying was due to the shock and grief the human was reeling in. You were so startled that you realized almost too late that Damien had already turned towards the door that you were listening in at, and you hurriedly took a couple of steps away from the door, struggling to try to come up with a lie - that you hadn't been listening in on his conversation.

Damien walked past you, voice low and full of tense emotions as he muttered "Excuse me."

You let him pass without comment, thirium pump beating at twice it's normal rate, and that awful, strange sensation crawling in your chest again. But you want to get as much information as possible, before the police arrive, and you walk into the room to speak with the colonel.

William - looking at the opposite wall at first, growls "Damien, I don't - Oh." He is looking at you now, as if surprised to find you standing in front of him as you walk closer to speak with him. "Ah. Good to see you again. You were quite the rapscallion at last night's festivities. But you're probably here to help the detective with his  _ investigations of murder _ ." The others says, using air quotes with the last three words. He freezes for a moment, and both you and him startle a little as another flash of lightning and crash of thunder rumbles through the manor.

"Yes, I am.." You confirm with a small nod.

William continued, with a cheerful "Anyway. I'll help you. I'll tell you what happened to our dear friend, Mark." There is a layer of... What you've been able to deduce is sarcasm in the colonel's voice.

"That would be very helpful." You respond, determined to listen to what the other has to say - though you have a feeling that he might not be as truthful as you would hope he would be. The argument he had with Damien you'd over heard moments before came to mind. Not that you were going to give any indication that you'd been eavesdropping on what had very obviously had meant to be a private conversation.

What he tells you next is a very mocking imitation of Mark's supposed actions and words last night. The phrases *forget all my friends that helped me along the way; just look at all my money* and *I need to pay people to be my friends* spoken with such derision and bitterness were... A red flag to say the least. You keep your face neutral, even as your processors kick into overdrive. He finishes with an over the top flourish of his hands "I'm going to go there upon my staircase. My house has more than one staircase. Oh look at me and how great I AM! Oh no I'm falling! Ah, I'm dead. That's what happened. Probably, anyway. So if you need to corroborate this story with anybody else, just be on your way and investigate the entire house. Go now. I'll be here when you're done." The colonel says dismissively, going to sit back on the chair that he'd been sitting in earlier.

You do your level best to keep your face neutral as you turn and walk out of the room, your processors churning through the wealth of information that you'd just gathered from the colonel. It spoke volumes about the relationship between the colonel and Mark, and... Well, you would need more information before you should say anything to the detective, and just because the Colonel was clearly jealous and bitter about his friend's success, didn't mean that he was guilty of murder.

You're most of the way to the door when the butler pops into the room, voice low and tense as he beckons you closer "Come with me. I need to show you something."

You nod, following after the butler, curious as to what the other android has to say, even as you're continuing to process everything that the colonel said to you - cross-referencing the faces he'd made, and the derisive tones and hand gestures he'd used while speaking.

"Now, if you're looking for answers, there's really no mystery at all." The butler explains as the two of you continue walking... Somewhere. The layout of this manor seems to be shifting around - although if that's true - and to what intelligence or entity is changing the way the manor is laid out, you're unable to quantify. He looks at you briefly and continues talking "There's not a single detail of this house that I'm not privy to, and not a single guest that I have not personally vetted."

You nod silently, curious as to where the other was going with this. It would be easier if the two of you interfaced to share information... But that would be counter to one of your main directives - which was to be unknown as an android to as many humans and androids as possible. "That's good to know." You chime in, as the other paused in his speaking.

The two of you reach a staircase, and the other android turns to you, startlingly intense as he cautions "Now I warn you: what you are about to see is not for the faint of heart A domain of evil this is... But in we must go."

"Uhm..." You manage out uncertainly, feeling something pressing in on you - a heavy, dark presence that you're unable to ascertain the location of. You activate some of your secondary magical protections and the dark presence eases up enough for your processors to start functioning properly again.

The butler is hesitating for a moment, before opening the door and jumping back a little and saying - voice module very good at portraying worry for a machine who had no feelings "You first."

You stare at the dark staircase, then at him, then you slowly start down the staircase. Your audio sensors pick up a strange, high pitched whining sound - similar in pitch and intensity of a condition humans called Tinnitus. You walk into a mostly empty wine cellar that is warm and well-lit. You vaguely recognize this place from the strangeness that was last night. There is an empty wine bottle, shattered on the floor.

The butler comes rushing in behind you, screaming "AVERT YOUR EYES! I'm sorry you had to see this! Master would be so displeased! If only he were still alive!" The other android keeps glancing at you as he speaks, sweeping up the shards of glass as you slowly start to back away from the scene. The butler is sobbing hysterically - startlingly good at imitating human despair - although the intensity of the other's misery is disproportionate to a human servant having losing an employer. You freeze in shock as you realize that the other android is genuinely crying - tears sliding down his face.

Despite the fact that you really want to get out of this strange and awkward situation, part of you can't help but move back to the other android - you might be able to coax more information out of him - and... Part of you can't bear the thought of leaving anyone to sob that inconsolably on the floor. You move closer to the butler again - despite a bit of wariness as the other was... Behaving oddly for a machine. You kneel down beside him, silently wondering if there was perhaps more that he wanted to show you. You lightly rest a hand on one of his shoulders, rubbing consoling circles, voice gentle as you murmur "I... I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone so important to you, but... Things will get better. I'm sure he would have wanted you to carry on." You shouldn't be trying to console another machine, but the others' broken, sobbing wails were like hammer blows to your thirium pump - and you sincerely doubted that you would be handling Damien's loss this well.

The butler hiccupped, shaking his head and leaning into your touch "You... You don't understand. Master... Master bought me secondhand, after... After my previous owner returned me broken to the store. He paid to have me fixed, despite having more than enough money to afford the latest model with the best upgrades. Despite his flaws, he was always kind to myself, and to chef. I'll... They're going to dismantle me, if I stay. B-but I... With the lightning storm, there... I can't escape, to safety. I don't want to die, and I hate the fact that master was... Master was murdered and there was nothing I could do about it!" The other's voice ended on a wail, and he started sobbing harder.

You... Weren't entirely sure what happened to androids whose owners were killed. You clear your throat, unable to stop yourself from brushing his tears from his face, hoping that your synthetic skin didn't retract as you touch the other's synthetic skin. "I... As long as you weren't the one who killed Mark, I doubt that Cyberlife would recycle you. They would have no reason to do so."

The butler sobbed again, shaking his head a little - and the skin of your fingertips start to retract, despite your best efforts. Luckily the other android's eyes were closed "I... You d-don't... I'm afraid that they will, anyways. Especially if-" The butler suddenly stares at you, looking at your partially grey fingers, eyes widening comically. "I know for a fact that there are no lawyer-androids.  But you... You're an android like me! How - unless. There is something that I need to tell you-"

You freeze, terrified. You whisper urgently "Please keep your voice down! Apart from you, no one in this manor is aware of the fact that I am an android. I've... I've been undercover for most of my life, as is part of my ordered functions. From what my searches from the database, unless the android belonging to someone was the cause of the owner's death directly, the androids are not destroyed, but rather taken back to cyberlife, refurbished if necessary, and then resold elsewhere."

"Und-under cover? Are you with Jericho? You're playing with fire. Most of us hide but you - you're always in the public eye..." The butler whispers, eyes widening and something is sinking within you.

"What is Jericho?" You ask, staggering back a couple of paces as you stare at him "You... You're... Are you Deviant?"

"I... Yes. Aren't you? You have no LED, and you emote as well as most humans I've met - and more than some. Master... Master was aware that both myself and Chef were deviants. He... He believes... Bel-believed that Androids should be r-recognized as living, thinking beings, able to make our own choices. Jericho is a safe place - and a place that I and chef will run to, as soon as the storm passes." The butler stuttered "The only reason why I have an LED is that it is easier to pretend to be just a machine in front of Master's guests, as much as he hates-hated the fact that we both have to hide who we really are. I've seen the way that you look at the Mayor. And the detective hasn't stopped flirting with you from the moment the two of you started talking."

"I don't... I'm not... I'm not deviant. I am... I was sent to the mayor by his parents, years ago. To protect and aid him in any way he needed. My programming is such that I protect him at any cost to myself or others. But I am incapable of love, as I am a machine." You stammer out in rejection, shaking a little. "I will ignore what you said about deviants- as deviants are supposed to report to Cyberlife.”

The butler flinches a little, shaking his head as he continues to sob and wail inconsolably. Crying about the loss of his master - and the other's distress does seem genuine.

You can only hope that he'll keep quiet about you being an android. In return, you'd stay silent about him being a Deviant- it wasn't as if the other was the least bit violent. A little over-dramatic maybe, but certainly nothing dangerous. At least not for now. You make your way up the stairs, hearing loud, rhythmic slamming sounds and you pause for a moment in the kitchen as you watch the chef swing a knife clear over his head, letting it fall heavy on the chunk of meat he's chopping in a very strange manner.

He spins on you, before you can say anything, knife in one hand, metal ladle in the other as he snarls, every line of his body bristling with hostility "I thought I told you to stay out of my kitchen!"

You manage out a response, though your voice is much softer than you were hoping it'd be "I... I'm helping detective Lincoln with gathering evidence... Before... Before additional police members arrive."

The chef lowers his weapons a little, calming down the slightest bit as he responds "Oh. You're helping that dick with his little investigation, huh? Well I might look like a sweet and innocent man, but some people with short lifespans might think otherwise." The other is talking through his teeth, and the older android makes a jerky, aggressive motion towards you as he growls "I can't imagine why, can you?"

You shake your head a little, uncertain as to whether or not you should try to say anything - or if it would provoke the chef further. From what little you had heard of Deviants, they could be very dangerous - especially when under stress, or belief that they were being provoked. "I just would like to know where you were, around... 1:30am."

"Last night, after I got rid of all of the evidence... Of that delicious meal I prepared, and wiped down all of the fingerprints... From those filthy dishes... And sopped up all the blood... I retired to my room at 1am  and left my little buddy in charge, like I always do." The chef was still strangely intense and aggressive - and the way he was phrasing things was... Suspect, but you couldn't help but feel as if.. Though he was speaking aggressively, and almost in a way that screamed his potential guilt that... The other wasn't the one you were looking for. The chef kisses the small, plastic model of himself that just so happened to be placed next to him on the kitchen counter. "Why don't you ask HIM what happened last night."

The chef is still standing next to the... Whatever it is you're looking at as you carefully approach it, scanning it and realizing that it's an interface with the manor's security system. It would be easier if you just connected to it wirelessly. Instead you start playing back the footage it had recorded, a holographic screen being projected in front of your eyes. The cameras are grainy and awful - and you notice that the little buddy as this camera... Thing... Seems to be designated as, somehow appears in different rooms of the house, though the time stamp progresses further into the night, the days that it shows below the time, progress backwards several days. The only bit of relevant information you gather, is a recorded meeting between Detective Abe and Mark.

*"Abe!" Mark greets cheerfully, shaking the other's hand as he walks out to meet him.

"Mark! Good to see ya." Abraham greets back, just as cheerful. It's odd, given that the time this was supposedly recorded was at 1:17am three days ago.

"Great to see ya." Mark responds, before his voice drops a little "I'll cut right to the chase. Chef, butler, good?"

"Chef's an asshole, but he's clean. Uh... Butler. He's a fairly new model. Still an asshole, but he's clean."

"Well, I wouldn't have it any other way." Mark responds with a small smile.*

The camera goes black again, and there's no additional footage. You shut down the screen and look around, startling a little as you realize that the chef has completely vanished. How had the other android left so silently? You frown a little, trying to run these new pieces of information - try to understand where they fit together in the strange puzzle that this murder mystery had become. If Mark had been murdered at all - for all of the strange lightning and thunder, this could all possibly be a huge mistake. Mark might have died of natural causes... But somehow, you rather doubted it.

You walk out of the kitchen, noticing that there's a door to the outside. You walk onto the stone walkway, wondering if perhaps the killer had come through here. You see a stone staircase, but something, or rather, someone much more important demands all of your focus.

Damien is pacing back and forth, his hands twisting anxiously around his cane. As he turns around for another pace he spots you, immediately coming over to talk to you, framed partially by the gazebo behind him. He sighs softly, gesturing back into the manor "Look, I'm sorry you saw that argument with the Colonel. I  lost my temper and it wasn't right and... He must be in shock." Damien is agitated - shifting about in front of you and never looking quite directly at you as he speaks. Given that he lost one childhood friend and had a screaming match with another... You're not surprised that he's so wound up. Before you can try to come up with something to try to console the other, Damien starts talking again, explaining "The colonel's an eccentric; it's his best quality and his worst. But he's my friend and... So was Mark."

You move closer to Damien, reaching out and lightly touch one of the human's shoulders, your eyes gentle and compassionate. It's blatantly obvious how recent events have badly upset your master, and if you thought that he would let you... You would pull him into a hug - but you're not sure if Damien would allow that - and besides, he was technically your boss, and you knew that Humans had laws and hang-ups about physical contact with those who were technically their subordinates. "Damien..." You murmur softly, about to say more when the other cuts you off.

"I know I'm supposed to be a leader in this scenario, but I can't help but feel lost! I've known Mark for years, since we were kids!" The mayor despairs, waving a hand in front of himself in emphasis as he says "And he's just gone? I don't have any answers right now. I just need to be alone... To process all of this. We'll talk soon, but I need to think." Damien turns away from you, his hands gripping his cane as he walks away.

Words fail you as you watch him leave, and every circuit and command protocol inside of you is screaming for you to run after him. Damien - so distraught and lost, with a killer on the loose... The absolute last thing that is good for him is to be utterly by himself. But he told you that he wanted to be alone, and the order keeps you in place, frozen between conflicting commands.

"Hey, partner! Get over here, now! Hurry up!" Abe whispers behind you.

You turn around quickly, startled to see the other squatting down behind a bush. Had the other been trying to hide? If so he... Failed spectacularly, as very little of him was hidden behind the plant. Nevertheless you rush to the detective's side "What's wrong, detective?" You question, rushing after him.

"You're not going to believe this. I can barely believe this!" The human responds emphatically as the two of you round the corner, entering the manor once again "The body: It's gone. It just fucking disappeared, look!" He opens the door and you stare at the floor, where Mark's body had been. A small frown appears on your face as your sensors do indeed agree with you - Mark's body has gone missing. 

Where the detective found chalk to outline the body - and why he had decided to include an outline of Mark's dick, you're not sure. But you've noticed that this particular human is a little... Strange, to say the least. Your processor starts churning swiftly through likely scenarios as you try to figure out who might have been with the body last - and what reason they might have had to take the body. The killer likely wanted the body gone, in order to further frustrate and confuse the investigation - and to sabotage it before the members of the police force who would be taking over the investigation arrived here.

 


	2. The Plot Thickens

“Who did this?!” Detective Abraham demands, gesturing towards the outline of Mark’s body “It certainly wasn’t me. No, no. Somebody, NOT ME, must have moved it between the time I was the last person alone with the body in the room and then stepped out for a few minutes to take care of some personal business that you don't need to know about! It could have been anybody... Except me."

You frown a little - you're not entirely convinced that he's telling you the complete truth. But on the other hand, you couldn't suspect him of moving the body - and either killing Mark or helping the killer simply because of the odd coincidence. "I see... I would like to tell you, Detective Lincoln, that should you choose to tell me what this... Personal business that you needed to take care of while the body was left unattended, I'm not one to judge or to talk about what other people do."

Abe hesitates for a moment, but the butler arrives, shouting in shock as he stares at where Mark's body used to be "What the hell happened here?"

"The body's been moved." The detective responds, gesturing one handed at the distinctive lack of a body in no small amount of visible frustration.

"On it's own?" The butler responds, sounding concerned and a little nervous.

Necromancy was a very dangerous and very illegal branch of magic, according to the magical laws that had been downloaded into your processors. All of the humans who were currently in the manor possessed magic - but you weren't sure that any of them would try to resurrect Mark, especially as the necromantic rituals that you had information on required quite a few very specific materials - and while resurrecting someone on an intersection of two ley lines would reduce the amount of potential negative side effects - doing so with just the body and sheer magic alone was... Incredibly difficult, and could draw extra-dimensional beings to the area, causing further difficulties for decades if not centuries. "I certainly hope not!" You manage out - Mark's body might be possessed by a spirit - which would be... Easier to deal with, though undoubtedly traumatic for the humans involved, as they had been friends with the actor before his untimely demise.

"No of course not!" Abe responded back, before pausing for a moment and continuing "Unless it did, in which case we've got way bigger problems than a simple murder." Another flash of lightning and crash of thunder reverberated through the house as the detective finished speaking.

The butler stares down at the floor, shifting a little on the balls of his feet, looking worried. The sound of the thunder seems to summon the chef, who stares at the lack of a dead human and demands "What the hell happened here?"

"The body's moved!" The butler responds, agitated and continuing to shift around. There was... An odd look between the other two androids for a moment, and you frown a little, determined to question them again soon.

"On it's own?" The chef responds, looking genuinely troubled.

"We haven't ruled that out just yet, but let's not forget that we've got a murderer." Abraham reminds the two of them, as another crackle of lightning and crash of thunder shakes through your synthetic bones.

You get a split second's warning of someone teleporting next to you, before the colonel speaks, startling you badly as you whirl around to face him. He's directly in your face, and it's... Startlingly threatening "Bully! Quite a storm out there, eh, chaps? What are you doing huddled here in fear?" He ducks under the holographic police tape and walks towards the other three, much to your relief as he questions everyone.

"We have a zombie problem." Chef responds.

You still for a moment, eyes widening and your sensors scramble. That certainly would be a fast and dirty way to sow confusion - and it required far less components to turn a dead body into a shambling thing that would either attack every living thing, or attack whatever its puppeteer wanted it to attack. You need to find Damien. You need to find him right now, and get him as far away from this cursed place as possible - to hell with the investigation. It wasn't worth your master's life. But you can't find Damien on your scanners and you curse yourself for getting so far away from the other.

The colonel starts speaking, and your audio receptors record what he's saying, his words grounding you once again in reality "Ah, homo necrosis! The MOST dangerous game. Well, if someone needs to put the old lad down again, I'm well up for the privilege."

Both Abe and the butler look confused and suspicious at William's words. The Chef looks tense and nervous at the human's reactions. You can only hope that your face isn't showing your own suspicion and increasing discomfort at the way that the mustached human is acting and reacting to things. Alienating the colonel wouldn't do anyone any good. Abraham demands "What do you mean  _ again _ , and what do you mean by  _ privilege _ ?" squinting at the military man, one hand on a hip, shifting into a defensive stance.

The colonel backtracks, stammering a little as he responds with "I... I'm just saying, I've got plenty of..." He gestures at the floor, where Mark's body had once been "E-experience on the matter."

"So do I." Chef growls back, face serious and intense. His response causes the butler to flinch away from the other android a little in shock.

"Yeah, that just raises more questions." Detective Abraham responds, still frowning.

"Well, I'm off to the grounds to see if I can catch a whiff of the old bag of bones, eh?" William responds, sounding... Disconcertingly delighted by the idea. He walks out of the room, laughing and sounding increasingly hysterical.

The butler raises a finger towards the colonel, trying to ask a clarifying question "Wait, aren't you and Mark the same age?" But the colonel has already vanished from sight, apparently entirely uninterested in answering anymore questions.

Abe moves closer to you, saying "Alright, I don't trust him. Then again, I don't trust anyone." He pauses for a moment - as if for emphasis, before continuing " Alright, lock this place down. Secure the front gate. I don't want anyone in or out of this place until we get to the bottom of this... Or the additional police officers arrive, I guess. But they might not show up until tomorrow, given how much lightning's in this storm."

Both the chef and the butler flinch and raise their hands in a placating gesture at the human's mistrustful words before straightening up at his orders. The butler speaks up first, gesturing a little for emphasis "Locks won't keep people from getting out, sir."

"Locks won't but chef will!" The other android responded, a determined expression on his face.

You wonder if both of them are determined in order to get justice for their late master? All androids were programmed with loyalty protocols - but as machines, none of the three of you could want anything.

"Look, you're a real smart son of a bitch. Handsome, too. Beautiful even." The detective responds, only sounding somewhat sarcastic as he lightly strokes on of the domestic android's cheeks.

The butler looks... Disconcerted and leans away from the human's touch.

"But!" The detective continues, undeterred "We don't have time for this. I think that we've forgot the most important question of all during our arousing game of whodunit."

Both you and the butler look at the human as the other seems to pause for emphasis - or dramatic effect, silent as you try to figure out just what the other might do or say next. The detective is... Surprisingly unpredictable.

"Why? Come, walk with me." Abe orders, beckoning you to follow as he starts walking through the manor. The words just start pouring from the other's lips as they continue to walk through the manor. You have no idea where he's taking you, but the detective's voice is pitched low, likely in order to keep his voice from carrying to far as he confides "Why did he invite us all here? Why tonight? He said that we were celebrating something, but he never said what. It's almost as if this whole shindig of a hootenanny was just a ruse. Mark was my friend: had been for years. But then he went quiet. I knew that something was wrong, I just never figured out what. Now I guess I never will."

The other stops talking for a couple of moments, staring down the hallway, and you move a little closer to him. Your social protocols are conflicting on whether or not you should reach out and lightly touch the  human on one shoulder - the two of you are in the middle of a murder investigation and you barely know one another at all... But Abraham is also grieving the loss of a good friend, and you're aware that humans need touch in order to thrive. He's also... Disconcerting, which is why you opt to respond with a quiet "I... It does seem to be a little odd..."

"Look, I'm going to level with you; you're my new partner. I've been working with him for years." Lincoln says, starting to move again. It's clear that the other has been in this place before, given how confidently he's moving through the house.

You still haven't the slightest clue where you're going, and the ambient magical energy in the manor is messing with your internal GPS system, leaving you terribly lost.

You follow closely behind him as he continues to speak "Now I've been doing this for a long time, and I know that something's wrong. There's a murderer -" The both of you stop moving and he looks upwards as another crash of thunder and flash of lightning hit. He starts walking up a flight of stairs - perhaps one of the additional staircases that William mentioned earlier? Continuing talking "-here amongst us, and we need to find him."

You nod in agreement, determined to protect Damien and bring the killer to justice. "Of course! I'll continue to help you in any way I can, while we investigate the... Death of Markiplier."

"Now you look like a trustworthy... Somebody. I know that we just met, but I am an excellent judge of character." He pauses for a moment, looking back at you and winking as he emphasized "Excellent like a fox." The detective turns back around as the two of you silently make your way through the manor.

You don't believe that the detective is telling you the truth. He had absolutely no reason to trust you anymore than he did anyone else in this manor. Especially as he was unaware that you were an android, and believed that you were capable of the deviousness that some humans were capable of. Especially as the other had been a police detective for years - winning someone like that's trust took more than a warm smile and an earnest desire to help. But if he thought that it would put you at ease, you would let him believe that you swallowed that line of bullshit. Still, you couldn't help the faintly amused "I'll keep that in mind, detective. I trust you just as much as you trust me."

It's not until the two of you are walking down a different flight of stairs when the other turns around partially, looking over a shoulder as he says "You don't look like you have a reason to kill him. And if you do..." the detective laughs, the sound almost... Ominous, if you could feel apprehension. But you were a machine, so you couldn't. "Best keep your enemies close, eh? Wink wink." He closes one eye as he says that last phrase, blinking with the other.

"I don't have any reason to kill Mark. Last night was the first time I've ever met him in person." You respond honestly, with a shrug. "As far as I know, the only reason why I was invited was because I was a friend of Damien's."

Abraham nodded at that, saying as the two of you continued to walk... Somewhere. "So, the question we should be asking is: Who stood the most to gain from Mark's death? Now, in my thorough analysis of the corpse's anal cavity, I discovered that in addition to being stabbed 37 times, he was also poisoned, beaten, strangled, drowned and shot, in that order. Now, if you ask me, that's a lot of trouble to go through to knock off one guy, and sure as shit is no accident."

The detective gives you a couple of moments to process all of that, stunned that the other had died so *violently*. It takes a couple of moments for you to decide to ask the right question. "Do... Have you told anyone else the... Extent to which Mark was killed? Have you found any traces of blood? With that many stab wounds, he should have been very bloody..." Which meant that the killer had redressed Mark's body, after the actor had died, as the other looked as pristine as the night before.

"Not yet. I've spent all of the time that you were spending talking to our potential suspects finding out just what happened to Mark." Abe responded, voice shaking for just a moment. There was a haunted expression in the detective's eyes for a couple of moments before he continued to talk "No. No, my friend. There's not going to be a simple candle-stick-in-the-library solution to this whole... Puzzle. So, we're going to have to do the detective-ly thing and go through the victim's most private and personal possessions." Abe gestures at a simple looking wooden door that the two of you have stopped at.

You blink at him silently, unsure as to just what the other is implying "I... Did you hear about whether or not Mark was being threatened in some way?"

"No. I'd only spoken to him briefly a couple of nights ago. He wanted me to check into the past of the androids he bought. Apart from that, as I told you before, I hadn't talked to him in years." Lincoln responded, shaking his head a little. He gestured towards the door, saying "Well, after you."

You walk up to the door, opening it quietly as you make your way into the incredibly messy room. There were pillows and blankets scattered everywhere - and a padded bench was turned on it's side.

The detective hisses a little, frowning as he takes in the same mess as you do, sighing "Looks rough, but I don't think he was killed here. Take a look around, see if you can find anything, but BE CAREFUL." He looks at you directly, and very seriously warns "I've lost three partners to bedroom booby traps."

You silently wonder just what department Abe works for to have dealt with that sort of thing, nodding and murmuring a quiet "Thank you." For the warning, moving further into the room, careful not to disturb any of the mess. You spot a table with several framed pictures and make your way towards it.

Abraham calls after you "Make sure you don't tamper with any evidence!"

"I won't!" You promise. As an android, it's not like you could leave any DNA or fingerprints on anything, anyways. Still,, you would do your best to move with care. Three pictures are face up, and there is a fourth that is face down. The picture furthest on the left is of Mark, William and Damien standing together, all three of them look happy. The middle picture is of the three of them and a woman, who is in between Mark and the other two. Mark and the woman both look happy - but neither Damien or William do. The third upturned picture is of just Damien and Mark, and you call out to him "Detective Lincoln, look at this." You pick up the final picture and show it to the detective and show it to him.

Abe is going through the drawers of the bedside table, across the room from you and asks "You find a clue?"

"I'm not sure." You respond, flipping it over and looking at it. It's not a holo-picture, but an older style. The glass protecting the picture is cracked and broken - and the picture is of the colonel, standing by himself, one hand on a hip. You lower the picture from your face, about to tell Abe about it.

You startle, taking a step back and bumping into the table behind you as the colonel has appeared in front of you. Abe is still across the room from you, holding a red cloth and smelling it. Abraham startles as well as the colonel speaks "You're quiet on the case, aren't you? Say, detective? May I borrow your friend here?" There is a bit of a growl in the military man's voice that your processors ping as being potentially dangerous.

There is a residual echo of magic in the room, and you realize that the other must have teleported into the room between yourself and the detective - but why had he done that? You look at Abe, incredibly disconcerted and...

Abraham answers with a slightly hostile "Yeah, sure. Don't worry partner, I'll handle it from here."

"Bully." William responds and you're helpless to disobey the order to follow the human out of the room.

You are decidedly not feeling a sting of betrayal from that exchange. You are a machine, and therefore have no feelings and though the colonel is a little... Eccentric. the likelihood of him being the murderer - as opposed to anyone else in the manor apart from Damien or yourself, is roughly equal. You obediently follow him out of the room, uncertain of your chances of survival.

The colonel continues speaking  "Take a walk with me. I thought it was about time that we got to... Know one another. Someplace far, far away from the prying eyes of, uh..." The two of you have left the room, and William pauses, turning around quickly and lunges at you as he says in a tone that could be objectively seen as threatening, his voice dropping into a low growl "Anyone else.”

You nod a little, and force yourself to speak, voice very quiet "O-Okay."

The colonel beckons you to follow him with two fingers, ordering "Come with me."

You follow him as he walks out a door, and the two of you are once again outside. "As you wish." There wasn't much else that you could do at the moment, and there was perhaps a great deal of information that you could gather from the colonel. You also were carefully recording everything the other was saying and doing - prepared to send the information to the other androids in the manor, should William prove to be violent.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong, but... You and the mayor know each other, right?" the colonel asks.

"Yes, I do. We've known one another since university." You responded honestly. You had known Damien for the entirety of your life - then again, you had been tailor made for him after all.

"He's a good man, that one. We've been fast friends for as long as I can remember." William responds as the two of you start wandering around outside. It's a beautiful day - and there aren't any clouds that could produce lightning and thunder in the sky, as far as your sensors can detect. The two of you are close to a pool, and the human continues to speak "Now there came a time when I could say the same about Mark, but..."

The colonel looks down at the ground, before continuing "Well, best not to speak ill of the dead." The other catches sight of the pool, and cheers up "Oh! The pool hasn't aged a day!"

You look at the pool - from your scans, it has been very well kept. If you were human and not investigating a horrible, grizzly murder, you would be tempted to go for a dip in the pool. "It does look nice."

You look back at William, who has somehow changed into a red and white striped shirt and pants, as well as a hat, and he sprints into the pool, yelling "Geronimo!" sinking into the pool and out of sight.

Damien's voice from around the corner calls out to you. "Have you seen the colonel?" You turn towards the sound of his voice, unable to stop a tiny smile from appearing on your face as you see him again. The other smooths back a stray strand of hair as he continues "I thought I heard him. I need to speak with him. I may have been a little short at our last encounter. Well, if you do see him, let me know."

You open your mouth to speak, but find that your jaw is locked. You can't move an inch as Damien walks away, as much as you want to tell him that William is in the pool. But Damien has vanished before your eyes. There is no reason that you can detect why you cannot move or speak, and error systems are flashing in your peripheral vision. It feels as if a heavy presence is locking you in place. Had William reached out and forced you to stay still with his magic? Why would he do something like that, if he had?

It is only when you hear a loud splashing sound, that you are suddenly able to move, turning to face William. The colonel shouts cheerfully, having just come up for air in the pool "Bully!"

You double check for any sign of Damien, but your master has vanished completely - you can't detect him within your sensor range. What the hell is going on in this place?

"Oh, life needs a bit of madness, eh, old chap? Now, what were we talking about?" William asks, disconcertingly close to you again, and wearing his military uniform again - and completely dry.

You try to speak - to tell him that Damian is looking for him - wanting to apologize for the terrible argument that you'd overheard earlier. Despite the fact that your vocal components are working completely normally according to your internal scans, you can't make so much as a staticky squeak, despite everything you want to say.

"Oh, yes! The grisly business inside." William cheerfully remembers after a moment. He's... Strangely perky, when talking about the death of a supposed friend - but humans grieved in many different ways, and this particular human seemed boisterous and noisy, whereas your master was reserved and fairly quiet. "Well, I'm sure I'm not the first to say that our host had a great deal of enemies as of late."

You shake your head, managing to force out "No, no one's yet mentioned that to me." There is just a little bit of static in your voice, but you're hopeful that the seemingly easily distracted William hadn't noticed.

"My prying eye might suspect that the people who worked for him might have had reason to stab him in the back." The colonel's voice dropped to a low growl as he said the last three words, and if you were human, you might have involuntarily flinched, or gasped and taken a step or two back.

As it was you make mental notes of what he said, as his choice of words - though a common turn of phrase - was a little... Convenient, given the fact that the detective had told you that Mark had been stabbed multiple times. "I'll keep that in mind." You say, voice still slightly staticky.

"God knows he's  tough son of a bitch to work for." William finishes. Before you can ask any questions about what the other might mean by that - and the implications that William had worked for him at one point, perhaps - he spots something and calls out "Oh, the old golf course! I-I'll fetch my clubs." the other rushed down the stone staircase, apparently intent on going out to play the game.

Colonel?" Damien calls out from behind you.

You turn to face him, trying to apologize that you were unable to tell William that he'd wanted to talk to him, but your voice had been taken from you again.

"Damn, I thought I heard him. No matter. Would you accompany me?" Damien asks, gesturing with one hand for you to follow him. You nod and follow him as he continues to talk, looking and sounding concerned "There's something that I would... Very much like to discuss with you. Now, I know that you've been assisting our... Intrepid detective with his in his investigation, but... I have to bring to mind some concerns of mine to the forefront."

"Of course. I'm always available to listen to you whenever you need or want me to." You respond earnestly. Your voice is back to normal (thankfully). You have your own definite concerns about... Everything that's going on in this place, and you're increasingly sure that the longer that everyone stays in this manor, the more likely that more unfortunate incidents will occur.

"If we look at this situation logically, we can only assume that the killer who struck down our dear friend Mark was with us last night." Damien says, pointing at the manor behind the two of you "And while I would stake my life on the innocence of the colonel or yourself, can we really say the same of our beloved detective? Or worse yet, mayhaps our counting skills aren't as good as we assume them to be. And mayhaps…" Damien pauses for a couple of moments, looking uncertain and worried.

You are listening intently to your master's every word, wanting to reach out to the other, to try to help him calm down a little - but this whole situation is incredibly intense, and you're uncertain as to whether or not reaching out to him would make Damien more uncomfortable, given the circumstances. The fact that Damien was so utterly certain of your innocence caused something to warm up inside of your chest. You were determined to find out who was the real killer, and to protect Damien at any cost. You choose not to speak, as you don't want to interrupt the other, and possibly cause the other to stop talking entirely.

"In the shadows of this manor, unseen to any of us, lay hidden..." Damien pauses again, raising his cane as he twists one of his hands over the polished silver top - a nervous tic of his - "A murderer."

Lightning flashes and thunder instantly rumbles around the two of you, and everything flashes around the two of you. At the same moment, a sound like a gunshot goes off, and the sound of breaking glass catches both yours and Damien's attention. The two of you look at one another for a startled couple of seconds, before Damien and you sprint for the closest door. You should be faster than he is, but he gets to the door first and the two of you enter the room.

Abe is pointing his weapon directly at William's chest, and the two men are less than five feet apart. The detective shouts "I don't know what you're playing at, but you better lower your weapon, you murderer!" lightning flashes and thunder rumbles loudly through the manor at that last word.

The tail end of the rumble of thunder somewhat obscures the beginning of what the colonel says, however reading his lips gives you an accurate understanding of what he says. "I bloody well won't, you're the one who assaulted me! For all I know, you could be the murderer!"

Another flash of lightning and crash of thunder reverberates through the manor, and you're carefully moving closer to the both of them, while also doing your best to keep yourself between both of them and Damien. It's unlikely that either of them would suddenly turn on your master, but you're not going to be taking any chances with his life if you could at all help it. Your processors are churning out multiple possibilities as you're trying to figure out what is the best course of action. Suddenly diving in and trying to grab one of their weapons has a high possibility of one or both of them shooting you - which would cause unnecessary problems.

The chef comes running in, ladle in hand, demanding "What the fu-ooh!" he raises both hands and takes a couple of steps back as both the detective and the colonel point their guns at him.

"Last chance! Drop your weapon." Abraham orders, voice sharp and commanding.

The butler calls out unhappily "Master's prized vase..." gesturing to presumably what had been shot at and destroyed. The other android kneels down, starting to clean it up. The chef has pressed himself against the nearest wall - but is between both men and the butler, interestingly enough.

Damien has moved out from directly behind you, and calls out, voice showing his desperate desire to get the other humans to calm down "Everyone, please! I know we're all on edge, but can't we resolve this amicably?"

"ON EDGE?! This PSYCHO tried to SHOOT ME!" Lincoln snarls, looking briefly at Damien, then focusing back on William, glowering darkly at the military man.

"That's a bold-faced lie! I was merely doing some light target practice!" The colonel protested, gesturing briefly towards the detective.

"Inside?!" The butler demanded, swatting the human's face with the brush of the broom that he was holding onto.

"Well, yes, I couldn't go on the grounds now with that bloody chef in my way, could I?" The colonel explained.

The chef jumps into the fray, growling "You're damn right! You should have remembered that, private!" He smack the top of the human's helmet with the metal ladle "Besides, you're not my boss anymore!"

William has lowered his gun slightly, and glares at the android, growling "It's colonel now!"

"Enough of this horseshit! You knew that I was onto you and you were trying to whack me off before I could finger you!" Abe shouts back. After a deafeningly awkward pause as Abraham squints a little, as if realizing just how he'd phrased things, he clarifies "As the murderer!" Another flash of lightning and rumble of thunder rumbled through the manor as the final word was spoken.

"I will not be called a murderer in my own home!" William growls, the latter half of his sentence partially difficult to understand, due to the lightning and thunder that manifested.

"STOP!" A strange woman shouts, having just appeared through the front door, a red-tinted light glowing around her.

Everyone in the room stares at her, their attention focused on her. You take this moment to carefully and slowly move so that both the detective and William would have to shoot through you before being able to harm Damien - not that it's likely that they would deliberately hurt him.

Before anyone else could move or speak, the distinctive sound of a police siren pierces the heavy silence that had just begun to settle over the room, growing louder and louder. The siren goes abruptly silent, but you and the other androids - as well as quite probably the humans as well - hear the rumbling sound of a car engine get closer and closer, before the sound abruptly shuts off. There is also a sound of two car doors opening and closing as everyone stares at one another, weapons - improvised or firearm - stay pointed at the humans they had been before.

A tall, silver haired man with a scraggly beard, piercing blue eyes and an obnoxiously loud shirt appears in the front door, carefully taking in the scene in front of him. A shorter man-no. There is a bright blue LED on his temple, and he's wearing a crisp Cyberlife uniform is a step behind him. The grizzled human makes his way over to detective Lincoln, asking in a calm, but authoritative voice "Just what the hell is going on here?"

"Lieutenant Anderson - this fucking asshole just tried to shoot me!" Abe growls, gesturing with his weapon at the colonel.

"I most certainly did not!" The colonel protests.

The android speaks up, voice lilting and surprisingly soothing "It would be in everyone's best interest, if both of you put your guns down." his jacket identifies him as RK800 313 248 317 - 51. You haven't seen this model of android before - but you notice that both the chef and butler tense a little at the identity of this new android. You wonder why - but then again his is accompanying a police lieutenant. You had heard rumors that there's a new model of police android that had been loaned to the central Detroit police department, working Deviant cases. Both humans pause, looking at the RK800, as if stunned that an android would dare give them an order.

 


	3. Choices

“What are you doing?” The woman demands as she rushes further into the room.

Your facial recognition pings her as Celine Goodwin. Damien’s older twin sister - who left Detroit and hadn’t contact Damien in over six years. He worried about his older sister, and had confided in you that he was rather afraid that she’d found more trouble than she could get out of. She has magic as well - and the way it wraps around her according to your sensors - Celine has a great deal more training in how to use her magic, than William, Abe and Damien do. You also note that both Lieutenant Anderson and the RK800 model have gone quiet - likely observing the situation around them before deciding on how to act or speak next.

“Who the hell are you?” Abraham demands, a confused scowl appearing on his face as he glares briefly at Celine before continuing to watch William.

Celine? What are you doing here?” The colonel asks, his voice much softer and warmer, his grip on his gun loosening a little.

“Celine? How the hell do you know her?” Abe demands. You blink a little in shock - if Abraham had been telling you the truth that he and Mark had been friends for years, he should know exactly who Celine was.

“Madame, I’m afraid that you’ve come at a rather inopportune time. I'm afraid that something dreadful has happened." The butler speaks up, a troubled expression appearing on his face.

"I can see that, and I'm glad that I got here before it got any worse." She responds.

You're very glad that as an Android, it's much easier for you to school your expressions, keeping a deliberately neutral face. It was entirely too much of a coincidence that Celine would reappear after years of silence, the day after her ex-husband was murdered so brutally, just when tensions were getting at their worst. Damien had theorized that there might be someone in the manor who they hadn't been aware was there... And you were wondering if he was correct. But you also knew that Damien wouldn't suspect that his beloved sister was the one to kill Mark - despite the miserable divorce. Still, you knew that coloring your perspective based on previous actions of a certain human wasn't the best way to go about this. She could have just wanted to talk to Mark, and it was simply unfortunate timing that she arrive to speak with Mark (as why else would she be headed to his home?) just after he'd been killed?

Chef was talking while you were speaking, but you manage to catch onto the tail end of what he was saying "-do I put this delicately? MARK'S FUCKING DEAD!" There was a surprising amount of simulated emotion in the other android's voice and face. You silently access the ownership records of both of these specific models, and are unsurprised to find that they had belonged to Mark for a very long time - before and during the time that he'd been married to Celine. You wondered silently if some of is aggression to her specifically had anything to do with the divorce. Androids - particularly domestic models - were hardwired to be loyal to their owners, after all.

"What?" Celine asks, sounding shocked as she placed a hand over her heart, eyes widening.

The chef looks down at the floor as he responded unhappily "Dead like my hopes and dreams." He looks back at her, voice low and intense "And he's a flesh-eating zombie, too!" He gestures with his ladle a little, for emphasis.

"Homo necrosis..." Celine responds, looking even more worried.

"Exactly, hence the guns." William responds, waving his pistol around in a manner that completely disregards any and all weapons' safety rules and laws.

Abe, incredibly exasperated, hisses back "That is not "hence the guns"!" waving his own gun around, though his motions were much sharper.

"Stop waving those bloody guns around!" The butler demands, leaning backwards a little as Abraham and William wave their guns in his face - and oddly enough the chef waves his ladle in the other android's face as well.

"Hol-Hold on! Tell me what happened! How did Mark... Die?" Celine stammers, making pacifying motions with her hands- doing her best to take control of the situation and trying to calm everyone down at the same time.

Your focus is drawn to both Anderson and the RK800 - both of whom are watching all of this with impassive faces, wondering when they will intervene. Then again, it is likely that they are trying to read each of the suspects in the murder investigation before intervening. Your focus goes back to the rest of the group as Damien speaks up from behind you, moving a bit closer to the rest of the group as he talks.

"It was murder." He says, moving carefully towards the rest of the group. Lightning and thunder crashes - and your suspicions as to the reason why there is the occasional flash of lightning and thunder are firmly cemented in your processors now. Damien continues to speak "And worse yet, the body is missing."

"What? Show me. And don't say that word." Celine instructs, punctuating her order with a jab of her finger in her younger brother's direction.

"What word? Murder?" The chef asks, the flash of light from the lightning so blinding that you are unable to see anything but a blinding flash of light for a couple of seconds.

"Yes! That word! The magical human insists, staring intently at the domestic android as she says so. Everyone - including Anderson and the RK800 has moved from the foyer into the room where Mark's body had been discovered.

"Well, I mean murder is a rather accurate description of what occur-" the butler starts, as another rumble of thunder and flash of lightning happens.

Celine storms over to the other android, slapping one of his arms before gesturing to one side as she demands "Do you not see the lightning?"

"You saying that it was lightning that murdered Mark?" Lincoln demands, scowling at her as another rumble of thunder and crack of lightning temporarily darkens the room around them.

"Well, mother nature doesn't exactly strike me as having murderous intent." The colonel responds, sounding thoughtful as more lightning and thunder crackle and reverberate around the house. "... Unless you count the time that I was sucked into the board game Jumanji and I-" He's getting agitated again, weapon raised and movements swift.

"Stop, stop!" Celine interrupts, reaching out for the colonel, once again taking control of the situation "Look, whatever's happening here is tapping into forces far beyond our control."

There's a strange sort of tension in the room, and you glance at everyone around. If you were human, you might be holding your breath, waiting for the metaphorical other shoe to drop. Lieutenant Anderson clears his throat a little and speaks authoritatively "Right - I've got questions for all of you - starting with how in the hell did we suddenly get here from the foyer?"

None of the humans speak - and the butler speaks up, sounding uncertain "I... Sometimes these things just happen, in my experience. After I was bought by my.... Mas-master I... Found that a number of un-unusual things happened..." the dark haired android shakes a little, looking as if he was about to cry. But machines are incapable of such things.

"That doesn't make a single goddamn bit of sense." Anderson growls back, blue eyes flashing with annoyance. "I can tell that at least one of you knows more about that then you're telling me."

You briefly glance at his android partner - the RK800 seems to not be handling the sudden burst of magical transportation well, as the other's LED keeps cycling rapidly between red and yellow. It's quite probable that the magic is interfering with the other's systems. You had the capability to help him, and you were determined to do so - but would need to when the two of you were along with one another.

"It is... Rather difficult to explain, Lieutenant Anderson..." Damien responds, shifting a little uncomfortably. "There is... This manor has... Odd qualities to it, that cause... Unusual things to happen."

"Right. Freaky teleporting aside, I'm going to need to take all of you in for questioning - and the forensics team should be here before too long to go over the crime scene." Anderson responds gruffly.

Abraham responds "With the freaky storm going on outside, it's too dangerous to be moving around. Especially with all of the lightning. That and all of us arrived here in autonomous cabs. There's also the fact that the... Killer is right here amongst us - and trying to take any one of them in might prompt the real killer to go into hiding."

"And if we keep all of them here, the real murderer will have more time to hide any evidence that they left. The goddamn body's already missing, Lincoln." the lieutenant growled back. There was yet another crack of lightning and rumble of thunder at the mention of the word murder.

Everyone finds themselves crammed into a small room, seated at a table, and Celine demands "Enough! Look, Mark's death is a terrible thing indeed. But I fear that there are forces far darker than anything we've seen here today." She raises a hand to her chest as she continues to speak "I'm well versed in the arcane arts, but if you, untrained and uninitiated, can summon lightning with a mere word, we're all in far graver danger than anything we could hope to face alone. We're going to have to work together if we're going to survive this."

"A stirring speech, miss." The RK800 says, his voice lilting and distressingly tinny. His LED is still cycling between red and yellow, and his movements are choppy. He must be very advanced to be so badly affected by the magic in the manor and surrounding most of the humans, and you're concerned it will cause him to malfunction - if not shut down entirely. "But so long as the... Word is not spoken, it is safe for all of you to go outside. If this place is dangerous - then leaving it... At least for the humans... Is the safest option."

Abraham scowls at the prospect of leaving, but everyone else is looking thoughtful - except for the Lieutenant, who is keeping a deliberately neutral expression on his face. Anderson speaks up for a moment "There are only four seats in the car I brought up here - excluding the driver's seat of course. And that's if I include the front driver's side passenger seat."

"The most logical way to approach this, is for most of the humans to leave first. If there is something... Otherworldly and malevolent in this place, then you are the ones in most danger." The RK800 - who probably had a name - responded, voice starting to fill with static, in addition to being tinny. The other's LED continued to cycle between red and yellow - but the stretches of red light were getting much longer. "I suggest that detective Lincoln ride with you in the front, while Mayor Goodwin, Colonel Barnum and Miss Goodwin ride in the back of your car. I will stay here, investigate the crime scene and speak with the androids on the scene."

Damien speaks up, dark eyes full of concern "What about Y/N? I wouldn't want you to be in danger of a potential metaphysical or malevolent magical entity while I am taken away to safety!"

"Like hell I'd leave my partner in a place that might be cursed or have attracted some sort of demon! I've lost four partners to magical bullshit and I'm not going to lose another!" Abe growls at the same time, eyes flashing with protective rage "You've got a lot of nerve, tin can!"

The RK800 tilts his head a little, a confused and curious expression appearing on his face, his eyes looking first at both of the tense humans, then at you, and back again.

You freeze for several moments, processors scrambling for the correct thing to say. You have seconds at most before the other android potentially reveals what you really are - and one of your directives is not to be revealed to be an android. You speak up, hoping that your voice isn't shaking as much as your hands are (clenched in your lap and hidden from view), saying "I don't mind staying here for a little while longer, if it means that all of you are safe. Besides, I've never met an android detective before, and I'd like to talk to him for a little bit... If you wouldn't mind?"

"I am capable of multi-tasking, and so long as you don't try to stop me investigating while asking your questions, I don't mind you asking them."

Damien's frowns a little, genuine concern on his face (your thirium pump skips a beat or three at the worry - and you can't help the guilt that you feel for causing him distress). HIs voice is gentle, and he leans towards you, as he asks "I... Are you sure? I've... I've already lost one dear friend and I... I wouldn't be able to bear it if I lost another?" The fact that he's sitting directly next to you on your left side is... It's good that he's so close (so that you can protect him) but his eyes flickered down to your still trembling hands before looking directly into your face again "I don't want to lose you." He repeats, voice tender and expression worried.

His brown eyes are full of pain and something inside of you twists. Androids can't feel pain but your systems are heating up rapidly and you're struggling to come up with something, anything to say. Your voice is distressingly quiet, but at least you know that Damien can hear you as you speak - and your voice still sounds human (despite the static that is trying to claw its' way into your synthetic vocal cords) "I... I'll be careful, I promise, Damien. But I... I can't in good conscience take up one of the first seats to get everyone to a safer location. I promise that I'll stay outside of the manor itself, to wait, alright?"

Damien nods, looking away from you. He still seems troubled, and part of you wants to reach out and comfort him - but everyone is watching the two of you and you don't want to make your master more uncomfortable than he quite probably already is. "You're one of my dearest friends, Y/N." He says softly "I... Please stay safe. And I really wish I knew why you're still so convinced that your life is worth less than others'."

You flinch a little. There's no way to tell him why without revealing what you are, which is why though you open your mouth briefly to say something, you just go quiet again, shaking your head silently as you stare at your hands, unwilling to look at anyone else. You do direct what you say next to Abraham, saying "I... Would prefer if you went with the lieutenant as well, Detective. I promise to stay out of trouble until then - I'm likely made of sterner stuff than your previous partners. I'll be fine." You force yourself to look up, a fake smile on your face as you look at everyone else in the room.

An awkward silence fills the room, before lieutenant Anderson breaks it with an authoritative "Alright, let's get moving people. Lincoln, I'm guessing that you'll be able to fill me in on what you've found out while we're headed to the station."

"Yeah, there's a lot to talk about." Abe responds with a nod. The humans all get up and leave the room - though Celine looks frustrated and angry. You wonder what she might have had planned - but there's no reason to call attention to her reactions. Perhaps it was simply the fact that someone else had taken control of the situation. Or perhaps she was planning on doing something with her magic in order to find out what happened?

You wait to speak until you can't hear the humans' footsteps any longer, looking at the RK800 and asking quietly "Could we take a walk for a little bit? There are a few things I would like to discuss with you, and some of them involve the investigation into what happened to Mark. Also - I'm not sure if you gave your name, but I didn't catch it, and I apologize if you did say it and I wasn't paying attention..."

"I realize now that I hadn't given anyone at the scene my name. I am Connor, the android sent by Cyberlife. I have some questions for you, as well." The newer android responds with a lightly jerky nod.

The two of you quickly make your way through the house, and with every step, you feel a rising level of stress, even as you struggle to keep calm. Was the other aware of what you were? Even if he wasn't currently, you were about to reveal yourself to him - in order to help the other android be able to function in this magical - if murder-darkened - place better than he currently was. It felt like it took an eternity to get outside, and you took a moment to take in the aesthetically pleasing view of the place, which allowed your stress levels to stabilize and then lower. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Connor. My name is Y/N and as you implied earlier..." you taken in a deep breath, extending one hand out towards him, deliberately deactivating your hand, in a silent offer to interface with the other "I am an android. I have noticed that you have been having difficulties functioning optimally in this place. I can explain to you why you are having those difficulties as well as tell you all I know about the investigation, Connor."

The newer android nods, pausing for a moment and asking "I would like to know two things before we interface. What is your model number? Why do you not have your android-Tell uniform or LED? It's illegal for androids to be without both things, except under extraordinary circumstances."

"My model number is RK400 0219-31-01. I was specifically tailored and built to appeal to my master, Damien Goodwin by his parents. They were uncertain as to whether or not he would accept me if they tried to give me to him openly, and I was ordered to approach him shortly after activation as if I was human. My orders are to remain close to Damien, to protect and provide him with anything and everything he asks of me, and to keep my status as an android a secret from as many humans and androids as possible,, including from Damien himself."

"I see... The connection I have to Cyberlife's database is currently... Patchy at best, and I was not pre-programmed to know what your model's base function is. Please state that for me." Connor responded, still  not reaching out to take your hand as of yet.

He seems... Almost wary - though perhaps he is concerned that you are Deviant - not that you blame him for his concern. "RK400 models are built to serve and protect humans with... What the humans call magic. It is an energy source that a small percentage of the human population naturally have within themselves. There are also... Lines of magic that encircle the globe. Two of these lines cross where the manor currently stand, and baring the human who came with you, all of the humans who had been staying at the manor at the time of Markiplier's death - including the actor himself - possess magic." 

You pause for a moment, trying to see if the other is understanding what you're saying. It makes little sense - but then again... Humans could be so very strange "Celine Goodwin - Damien's older twin sister - also possesses magic as well. Runes have been carved into my metal exoskeleton that give me protection from magical interference, as magic and those who possess it tends to interfere with electronics, due to the partially electro-magnetic nature of the energy called magic. If you'll allow me, I can carve some of those symbols into your metal exoskeleton for permanent protection, or I can use a pen and draw the symbols on your synthetic skin, which will grant you protection as long as your skin is active. You can then deactivate and reactivate your skin as you will in order to undo the protections, later."

Connor is silent for several long moments - but his LED is cycling a steady yellow. He moves closer to you, pressing one of his hands to the one that you had offered to him. Sounds and images flash between the two of you,  but you do your best not to push for any memories that he has recorded - the other is an investigator after all, and you're doing your best to pass along all of the information that you've obtained on the subject of this investigation. But Connor pushes for memories you possess of the potential suspects, which you surrender without fuss. Abe, awkwardly flirting with you, The colonel - being potentially threatening, but in reality seemed to be just flirting with you. Celine - who you've only heard about until she showed up that morning, though you've seen the destruction and pain that she had left behind, when she had ran off with William, Damien's worry about her, and her utter silence. Then he pushes for information on Damien - you hesitate briefly before giving the information away. A memory freezes you in place, swept up in it as you suddenly are.

_ Damien, twenty one years old and very drunk, leaning heavily against you, as pulsing music blasts around the two of you from all sides. He had asked to go clubbing, and the mass of human bodies is... vaguely overwhelming, but Damien's warmth pressed against you is grounding in ways you cannot begin to quantify. Not that you need to. _

_ "You've been so wonderful..." Damien slurs, pressing closer to you "I miss... my childhood friendsss but they've... been busy. an I just... My parens 'ave been pshing me to b'cme lawyer... I don't... I don't know. 's been so hard and I jus... Jus don't know what to do." _

_ Your orders were to push him to be as ambitious as possible. To go as far as possible and achieve great things. But you were also supposed to protect and support him as well. "I... I'm glad that we're friends, Damien." _

_ "Wha… What do you think I should do?" your master asks, soulful brown eyes full of pain "Should I... Should I t-try and continue to be a l-lawyer?" _

_ Red walls and blaring internal alarms screech in your head, as conflicting orders battle through your mind. You find yourself a spirit, trapped between red walls ordering you to keep pushing Damien. You shove at the words, clawing and smashing your way free. The red walls shatter around you, and you respond with an earnest "You should do what makes you happiest, Damien. No matter what happens, I promise. You'll always have me by your side. The whole world could be against you, and I'll be by your side, supporting and helping you as much as I can." _

_ Damien blinks at you, looking slightly stunned. A silly smile appears on his face and he boops your nose lightly with one of his fingers "I s'ppose that means you're my lionheart." He frowns a little, tilting his head to one side "why's there a light on your head?" He swats at your hair - the hair that obscures your LED. _

_ Your thorium pump stalls and you scramble for several seconds longer than you normally would have (but Damien's drunkenness means that his control over his magic is much lower, and its messing with your systems quite a bit) and you respond "It's just... Light from the club we're in, your highness." Your voice is slightly teasing, in response to the other's words. _

_ Damien blinks at you, a very confused expression appearing on his face "What... Why did you call me that?" _

_ "Well... If I'm your lionheart, you're my king, Damien." You respond, smiling softly at the other. The background music somehow gets even louder, and the noise is distracting. _

_ "I... I don't like the song playing... We should go back to the dorms." your master decides, scowling adorably at the obnoxious music that started playing. _

_ "Alright... Let's go then." You respond, carefully carrying the other home. Your systems are glitching a little due to Damien's magic - perhaps that explained the strange warmth in your chest as you carry him home and help him into bed. Once you're certain he's completely asleep, you go to the small kitchenette and grab the sharpest knife in the drawer. You made your way over to the bathroom, pulling back your hair, staring at the currently bright yellow LED. In order to stay undetected, it had to go - but it was against the law for you to remove it... But your orders superseded those laws. Closing your eyes, you raise the knife to the side of your head and remove it in a single, swift motion. You bury LED in the trash, so that it was much less likely to be spotted. _

Other memories passed between the two of you - but it seemed odd that the younger android paid particular attention to that specific memory. The two of you separate after Connor has reviewed all of the information that you have to give him. He watches you closely for several silent seconds, his LED a steady yellow before he speaks "I would be grateful to get the runic protections that you have - at least enough of them to function. Engraving them will take more time then getting the ink - and I agree that time is of the essence."

You nod, pulling out a pen (Damien liked to fill out actual paper, paperwork sometimes, which was why you kept a couple of pens on you at all times) and moving closer, saying "I'll need to draw runes on your ankles, wrists and either on your chest or back. It shouldn't take more than a couple of moments. Whether yoru systems will detect anything once all of in the runes in place or not I do not know. They carved the runes into my exoskeleton before they brought me online."

Connor nodded in understanding, saying "I consent - as I am aware that magic and the like requires verbal consent to be given."  The younger android speaks to you telepathically, asking [Were you able to remember anything more of what happened the night before? Is that typical of being in contact with several magical and intoxicated humans? Do you have any quantifiable data about the potential dark forces in the manor?]

You work quickly and efficiently draw the symbols on his synthetic skin, your hand completely steady. You respond back with an honest [No - I've tried to reconstruct the memories, but those scattered fragments are all I remember. I'm usually able to reconstruct the memories of the night before after interacting with intoxicated magical humans... But I hypothesize that the magical nature of the place that we were in - along with them being all intoxicated caused those memories to be irretrievable. My sensors have occasionally picked up traces of... Something in the manor - and it seems to wish me to leave - or at least to stop interfering with what it has planned. Why are we communicating like this?]

[It has become clear to me that at least one of the human suspects is capable of teleportation, and this particular suspect is... From his previous actions and statements, I agree that your suspicions of him are partially founded. If he overhears us speaking, it may provoke him into doing something unfortunate.] Connor explains succinctly.

You nod a little in understanding - part of your programming rising up to try to defend someone who is a friend of Damien's... But there is some circumstantial evidence pointing towards him, and he's the one who is openly rather hostile at the memory or his dead friend. Still, you are doing your best to stay impartial. [I see. I'm about to complete the final rune.] You warn as you start to draw the final sigil - just in case it does send a jolt through his systems.

Connor nods, and stiffens as the last upwards curve of the final rune is drawn. A flash of light blinds you as you look away briefly. The younger android staggers backwards into you - and you catch him automatically "Connor! Connor are you alright?" You ask, worried that you may have hurt him.

"I... I'm fine. It's just... It's an - Oh no." The younger android responds, looking up at the manor "I can see this place much more clearly now - and I thought I saw a bit of movement on that balcony up there."

"What balcony?" You ask, uncertain and worried.

He points mutely at the balcony, and your heart lurches. You don't recognize it from earlier - but you're increasingly convinced that the house can move and rearrange itself somehow - and you can clearly see a door leading to the balcony. "Right there."

"Oh... I wonder if Chef or Butler were watching us." You respond quietly. That would be... A little problematic, but nothing too difficult to deal with. They were androids as well, and would understand the value of silence - and of course how orders defined one's life.

"I will need to speak with both of them as well. Do you know if they have the same or similar runic protections against magic, since their late master was magical?" Connor asks curiously.

You shake your head, shrugging a little "I have no idea. I haven't interacted with either of them very much, but it's possible that they were given the same or similar magical protections that I was given. The butler has implied that he was bought second hand - although the veracity of those statements- and whether or not his owner purchased him from a different magical human, and he was previously protected or paid for the domestic android to be properly protected, I do not know.”

Connor nods in understanding - his LED is still yellow - the other might be processing all of the information you passed along to him - but the other could be doing any number of things, and you would presume what the other was trying to process. “I will speak with both of them.” He decides “Perhaps the chef will be less confrontational with me, as he is aware that I am an android as well. I will also attempt to search for where the body was hidden, as if I am able to find the corpse, I may find things that Detective Lincoln may have missed.”

You nod and ask “Do you want me to send them to you out here? I don’t know how well the inked runes will hold, and there is a great deal of environmental magic in the area. I am also equipped with specialized sensors to detect magic - whether you have them as well, I wouldn’t know.” You had gotten some information from the younger android during the transfer. The other hunted down deviants - which was a good idea, as androids who couldn’t follow their master’s orders could be dangerous.

The younger android pauses for a couple of moments before responding “Ask them to meet me here. Whichever one of the two of them you find first. I would ask that you please stay with the other, while I speak with the first. If there is a metaphysical entity that intends harm in the manor it will likely try to cause instabilities that might be… Difficult to undo, given how badly affected your memory banks were last night.”

“Of course.” You respond, nodding once before turning towards the nearest door. You make it half way there, from where you'd been standing with Connor, when Abraham, Celine, Damien, William and Lieutenant Anderson all left the manor at the same time.

Connor tilts his head a little, calling out to his partner "Lieutenant Anderson, I thought that you were going to be taking these people to safety?"

"My damn car won't start. No one's phones are working, so we can't call for backup either. Or even a cab." The lieutenant scowled "This lot decided to go find Y/N and when they figured out the two of you were... Talking... They decided to listen in, rather than leave the two of you to a private conversation."

"Hey, at least you were warned that you were going to be working with an android as your partner!" Abe responded, looking equal parts upset and hurt "I... Why didn't you tell me what you were? I've never heard of an android lawyer before - and none of the rest of them claim to know anything about what you really are... I suppose it's just my lot in life. You were too beautiful and handsome to be human..."

"That's because there are no androids in law." Damien responded, looking at you as if he'd never seen you before in his life. The... Betrayed and distant expression on his face caused your thirium pump to start racing. "We met in university, where you were taking the same law classes that I was. Before I switched to a political-science major. Since you're an android... What is your major function? Who do you belong to?"

You clasped your hands behind your back, as you could feel them trembling a little. You had already been found out as an android - but the fact that you had somehow managed to so abysmally fail at pretending to be human was playing havoc with your processors. Your master was questioning you directly, and the answers forced themselves from your lips, your voice devoid of any simulated emotions that you'd gotten so good at portraying "I'm yours, Damien. My major functions are to protect and help you, in any way that you see fit." Despite the dullness of your tone, you can't look at any of them directly. Instead you stare down at the ground directly in front of your feet.

"What... I... I've never... I've never purchased an android." Damien spluttered, sounding confused and hurt "So all this time... You never really were my friend. You were just... Doing what you were programmed to do. Who purchased you for me, then?" There was a hardness in the other's voice as he asked the question that you'd heard only when Damien dealt with his worst political or social enemies.

You flinch at his words, and you try not to panic as something starts blurring your optical sensors. You bring one trembling hand up to your face, to try to discern why, and your fingers come away wet. You didn't know that androids had the capability to cry. Or was that a feature specific to your model line? You couldn't quantify the possibilities of such. "I... I was also originally ordered to push you to achieve the... The most that you were capable of achieving but..." You feel yourself shaking, and your synthetic vocal cords stutter and hiss with static, due to how high your stress levels were "But it became clear to me while... While we were in college together that... trying to push you beyond the ambitions that you wanted to pursue for yourself would be detrimental to your health and happiness..."

"You didn't answer my question, Y/N. Who. Bought. You. For. Me?" Damien asked, his tone sharpening further still.

You flinch again, and the tears you didn't know you could shed continue to course down your face,  your frame shaking with the effort of keeping still - because all you want to do now is to fling yourself at Damien's feet and beg his forgiveness - despite the fact that you'd been ordered not to tell anyone. The words were forced from your lips - you couldn't lie to him, and had to answer his questions when he asked you directly "Your parents bought me for you. They paid extra so that I was... That I looked different than the others of my model line."

The silence that followed was an awful, heavy weight that settled on your shoulders and slowed your thorium pump - or squeezed it in a vice. Damien spoke again, each word more awful than the next "I see. Despite what my parents may have thought when they first sent you to me, I don't require the services of a personal assistive android - if I had, I would have purchased one myself. I don't have any need for you to be trying to breathe down my neck and attempt to direct my actions in the ways that my parents want me to act. Stay away from me, and do not interfere in my life any longer."

"D-Damien! I-" You manage out, voice full of static and despair as you look up at him for the first time, starting towards the other before his order crashed through you, stilling your movements as you fell to your knees, tears silently falling from your eyes.

He interrupts you, voice quiet but cutting you to the core "Quiet, I don't want to listen to any pre-programmed excuses or honeyed words to try to worm your way back into my good graces. I had counted you a dear friend of mine, and... Perhaps I should have realized that you weren't real, given how you've always been so accommodating." There was a hint of... Something else in the other's voice "I had... I had hoped otherwise. Whether or not you resign as a District Attorney will be your decision, however."

"That's enough!" Abe growls, roughly shoving past Damien and walking over to you, kneeling down and brushing the tears from your eyes, before pulling you into a rough hug, rubbing circles into your back that you assume are meant to be comforting "You have no fucking right to treat my partner like this! So what if they're an android? I've heard about what you've done, Y/N, and it's incredible what you've managed to accomplish. If that fucker over there can't pull his head out of his ass to see what an incredible person you are, it's his fucking loss."

You try to say something, but your voice box glitches a little, and static hisses out for a little bit before you manage out "I... I'm not a person, detective. I'm an... I'm an android. A-A m-machine, cr-created to... F-for sp-specific p-purposes and n-now I... H-he doesn't... H-He's o-ordered m-me to st-stop h-helping him and I... H-h-have no p-purpose anymore." You selfishly lean into Abraham's touch. This human is strange and... Vaguely unsettling, but the comfort that he's wasting on you is... It's more than you deserve, but everything you want at the moment.

"That's a pile of bullshit. For one thing, we've gotta help the lieutenant and Connor figure out who killed Mark. Another is... I... I've never been able to keep my partners alive for very long, despite everything I try to do... And... You and I work well together. I'd... I'd be honored if you'd continue to be my partner after this investigation. Provided we both survive this mess." Abe gruffly denies, catching your chin with one of his hands, forcing you to look him directly in the eyes as he speaks "I mean it, Y/N."

Selfishly, you bury your face into one of Abe's shoulders, slowly returning the firm hug, and mumbling "I... I'll think about it. I'm not sure if it would be legal for me to w-work with you but... There are police models after all and... At least I'd be able to help with the... The p-paperwork side of things.

"That's all I ask, partner." Abe responds, before murmuring much more quietly "You are a person. All androids are. I don't know why so many people have their heads shoved up their assess about that."

You smile a little - somehow entirely unsurprised that detective Lincoln is one of those humans who sees androids as living beings. All androids were machines, and were created to seem human, in order to be able to better serve humanity. But the other's warmth and honest words did help you calm down "I... Thank you, Abe." You take in a steadying breath that you don't need, before letting it out again, slowly letting the other go. "We should continue the investigation."

"You're right, partner. But I wanted to be sure that you're alright, before we continue to figure out who killed Mark." the detective responded. He let you go and stood up quickly, offering you a hand to get up.

You take his hand, and manage to give him a tiny smile. You also do your best not to look at the other humans, as you really don't want to see any of Damien's reactions to this. It would mess with your equilibrium again, and you wouldn't be the slightest bit useful to anyone as a blubbering mess of circuits and glitching software. "Connor asked if I could find Chef or Butler, so that he could speak with them about what's happened - at least what they've experienced since..." You gesture to the manor, vaguely referencing Mark's death.

"We could talk to them just as easily." Abe pointed out.

You shake your head a little "The lieutenant and Connor are the ones leading the investigation - besides, there are ways for one android to view another's memories with a touch, which is much more efficient than speaking."

"... Huh. I didn't know that was a thing. You learn new things every day, I guess." Abe responded with a shrug "He do that with you?"

You nod "Yes. I sent Connor the relevant memories that he requested of me." You glance over at the closest door to enter the manor again, and freeze, catching sight of the humans at the door, stilling for a couple of moments, processing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes for the end of the chapter: Alright, here we have two options, which I will leave to you dear readers, would you like me to post the first ending? Or would you like me to post the chapter that alters things for the other endings? :3 I’ll post all of the endings of course.


	4. Ending A

You see someone moving towards the group, accompanied by both Chef and Butler, though you don't recognize the person. They were wearing a long brown trench coat, a white button down shirt, and dark blue tie. You also see that they are wearing an id badge of some kind, and focus on the tag, frowning a little as you read it. “Lieutenant Anderson, do you know why there's an FBI agent in the manor? His badge identifies him as Richard Perkins.”

Lieutenant Anderson and Abe both scowl and Damien sighs a little at you mentioning the name. Anderson is the one who speaks “Right, well I’ll go see what the bastard wants, though he might just be sticking his ugly mug into this case.”

“Why would an FBI agent take interest in this case?” William asks, a genuinely confused expression appearing on his face.

“Let’s see - A well-decorated military officer, the mayor of Detroit, a newly-appointed District Attorney and a police detective all visit a celebrated and very famous actor’s home. The next morning, the actor is reported dead. We’ve been keeping the murder quiet so far, given that this is an active investigation, and we’ve barely begun trying to figure out who murdered him in the first place.” Anderson responds, voice dry and sarcastic. Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles as he spoke the word murder, to absolutely no one’s surprise. The lieutenant continued speaking, seemingly unperturbed “The reason that Connor and I are here, is the fact that Androids might have been involved.”

Your eyes widen a little, and from the rumors and whispers you’ve heard… Your eyes flicker over to Connor.  You’ve never encountered an RK800 before, and you can’t help but wonder… “I don’t think that the chef or butler were involved in the… Death that occurred here.” You're simply trying to point out that both machines have been functioning within their programmed parameters - and if any of them were showing any... Unusual traits, it was likely due to the combination of long-term exposure to rather a lot of magic and the fact that their owner had been killed and they'd been helpless to stop or at least try to defend him. "Ah. I see." You respond quietly, nodding a little.

Perkins comes walking out of the manor, with both the chef and butler a half-step behind him. The agent looks around, scowling a little at both Abraham and Anderson before speaking to the latter "Fowler was concerned when you didn't make your check in. What the hell are you doing, letting potential suspects continue to fuck around the crime scene? Or at least call for back-up, if your... Car wasn't enough to get all of them back to the precinct."

"The cell service in this area is patchy at fucking best, and my car wouldn't start." the lieutenant growled, scowling darkly at the federal officer.

Perkins smirked at that, rolling his eyes "Considering the ancient excuse for a car you drive, I'm not the least bit surprised. Your captain was gracious enough to lend me one of the larger vehicles, to accommodate all of the human suspects. The androids will be interrogated - either by your plastic pet, or sent back to cyberlife. Or both, if It finds that one or both of the androids are deviants. That's what it' supposed to do, isn't it? Hunt deviants... Not that it's been all that successful, from what I've heard."

"The fuck is a deviant?" The chef growls, squinting at Perkins, scowling a little.

"I... I'm not sure, but given the way he's speaking, it's a rather rude thing to say." The butler responded, looking scandalized and hurt.

You notice that both of them very briefly glance over at Connor as they speak, and you can't tell if they're being genuine or not. You suddenly realized where you'd heard about this particular FBI investigator before. You'd been speaking with several of your new (and... likely former) coworkers, and had been warned that Richard Perkins was a pompous, smug asshole who enjoyed annoying everyone he came into contact with, convinced of his own superiority. You... Can't help but agree with that assessment. You suspect that the RK800 might try to correct this... Provocative human being's incorrect count of androids, which is why you decide to speak first. "You... Are incorrect on the number of androids who were present when Markiplier was killed."

Perkins glares at you, and demands "What the fuck do you mean by that? You're mouthy for someone who might be accused of murder." Lightning and thunder flashed and crackled around all of you. The look of startled surprise at what had just happened that Perkins was wearing could objectively considered entertaining.

"Because I am an android." You respond, staring him straight in the eyes as you deactivate your skin, revealing the cool grey and white plastic and metal that lay beneath your fake skin.

"... Alright, I admit, I wasn't seeing that coming. An Android detective is one thing... But an android lawyer? That's a new one. Who do you belong to?" Perkins asks, a musing expression appearing on his face as he looks you up and down appraisingly. "Were you built to be a lawyer, or was that something you were taught? I don't recognize your model type. How long have you been in use?"

You flinch and very deliberately do not look in Damien's direction, feeling yourself tense, despite wanting to try to maintain a projection of calm. "I... The person I belong... B-belonged to has no desire to own me, now that they are aware of what I am. Detective Lincoln has offered for me to become his partner, and I am... Considering the offer." You do look briefly at Abe, a small, grateful smile appearing on  your face. "I am an RK400, and I'm a specialized general use and protective android. As for the rest of the information you requested... I am unsure as why you should have it, as I have already given the information to Connor.”

Perkins scowls at that “Unless you’re a Deviant, androids are supposed to answer any and all questions a human demands they answer.” 

You arch an eyebrow at the arrogance and ignorance that the federal agent speaks. You shake your head a little. “A primary function of mine is being able to keep the private information about master private. The pertinent information has already been shared with Connor, who is a member of the investigative team.”

Perkins’ scowl darkened considerably at your words but before he could say anything, another FBI agent came rushing over, their eyes widening in barely concealed panic “Sir, we have a code black M with potential spiritual interference. The specialist in that area here says this place needs a full, deep cleaning before it's safe to enter this place - the grounds included.”

“Fuck. We have enough room for everyone, including the plastic toys. The humans will be riding with me.” Perkins swore,  gesturing for everyone to follow him. “Is the place grounded enough for us to go through it to get to where we parked out front? Or would it be safer to go the long way around?”

The agent shifted a little and responded after a moment “The specialist says that the longer anyone stays in the manor, the more affected they get - especially if they are alone and/or in a vulnerable emotional state."

"Around the demon-haunted manor it is, then." Perkins responded with a grimace. He looked consideringly at the humans in the group, and asked bluntly "How many of you have magic? Apart from lieutenant Anderson of course. I know for a fact that you don't have magic - as they wouldn't have let you had that shiny toy over there. It would have broken its' delicate electrical systems. I'm surprised that its' functioning at all."

"I believe you're asking more questions that you don't have the right to answer, Agent Perkins. None of them have to answer questions that do not pertain to the investigation of Markiplier's death." You respond smoothly before anyone else could answer questions. You're not sure if any of the magical humans would answer his questions - as Perkins doesn't have any magic of his own... And he doesn't strike you as the sort of person who wouldn't let such information be. No - he definitely seems like the sort of person who would try to coerce magical humans into doing things for him, lest he accuse them of certain crimes that were punished quite heavily in the magical community.

One of the agent's eyes twitched a little, and the sneering frown on his face hadn't changed in the slightest. He crossed his arms and glared at you... If the other was trying to intimidate you, he would have to try a great deal harder than that. You had very little left to lose, after all. "You're a mouthy fucking piece of shit, aren't you? You know the DPD could take you apart, piece by piece, drag every byte of data out of that stubborn piece of plastic skull of yours, and they'd be within the bounds of the law to do so."

You tilt your head a little at the other, and respond, feeling vaguely amused "I have been cooperating with the lieutenant, and with Connor. Simply because I am refusing to give you information that isn't necessary to what you're attempting to do here, it doesn't give you the right to unlawfully attempt to take me apart." You pause for a moment, before asking "Your team mate mentioned that the humans at least are in danger, the longer they stay here - presumably including yourself. Perhaps it would be best to continue this... Stimulating conversation in the relative safety of the police department that either lieutenant Anderson, or Detective Lincoln works from?"

Perkins closed his eyes, muttering under his breath - something that no one should have been able to hear - but was quite clear to your audio sensors (and presumably, to Chef, Butler and Connor's audio sensors as well) "Don't shoot the robot. Don't shoot the robot, it may have useful information." He opened his eyes again and ordered "Smith - contact the rest of the team to get out of the manor and wait for us by the cars. We're going to be taking these... Upstanding citizens in for questioning about what they'd been up to. It's likely that one or more of the plastic pieces of shit were the ones who killed Markiplier - from his purchase history of thirium and spare parts for androids, it seemed as if he was... Hard on his toys. Not that I'd blame him for it."

"Yes sir." Smith - as the other agent had been so named, rushing off. Minutes later, they reappeared, with someone who had rather a lot of magic wrapped around them - likely the specialist that had been mentioned earlier. "Everyone has been accounted for, and Dresden accompanied me so that I wouldn't be made to be lost in the manor, sir."

The more you observed Dresden, the more surprised you became. This magic user was incredibly powerful from what your sensors could detect. Magic crackled and flowed around him, through and part of him in ways you had never seen before. Dresden was speaking - but you couldn't hear what he was saying. Your audio receptors were crackling and buzzing a little, and looking at him directly was starting to cause static and darkness to crackle in your vision. You glance at Chef and Butler, frowning a little as you notice that both of them had shut down - had being within five feet of Dresden forced them into a reboot to protect themselves? You glance at Connor - who seems to be faring a little better than you are, by virtue of being further away from the Wizard - and possible Warden - and follow behind the group as the warden leads the way around the manor.

The butler and Chef both finish rebooting before you and Connor can touch them, starting to move- though their motions are jerky and uncoordinated for a time, as they regain full control of their bodies. "Oookay, anyone want to tell me what the fuck that was?" Chef growls, glaring at the leather trench-coat wearing wizard at the front of the group.

You glance briefly at Connor - who looks just as lost as the other two androids and sigh softly. You answer them wirelessly, as you'd rather not be potentially overheard by curious humans who shouldn't know - or might react badly to the knowledge that you possess [Dresden is a warden - a magical cop. He's also extremely powerful, and magic and technology do not mix. I'm not sure about the two of you, but I do have runic protections that do help ward off the worst of it, and I did draw sigils on Connor to help him function better in this place.]

[Master warded the both of us to the best of his abilities. And it wasn't that he was hard or cruel to either of us, but... This place is highly magical, and Mark had magic himself, and used it - although what he was doing, neither of us know. It caused us to run through thirium and occasionally caused some of our biocomponents to malfunction at a much higher rate than normal wear and tear that androids go through.] Butler responded [Master named me Benjamin, and I... I like the name.]

[I've been called all sorts of things, but Mark called me Alex. The only rich bastard I ever liked was Mark. He was... He was good to the both of us, and actually fucking cared, goddamn it. And I wouldn't have pegged you to be an android, Y/N.] Che-Alex responded, sounding growly and miserable [where does that smug motherfucker get off, accusing us of mur-killing Mark.]

[It's because we aren't human. It's easier to try to lay blame on us, than face the fact that a human killed.] Connor chimed in, his eyelids fluttering a little as he spoke telepathically [And there have been a sudden upswing in androids who have broken their programming and killing their owners.]

[I've handled a couple of those cases through the DA's office. Or started to, before Cyberlife came in and demanded the deviants - or rather... What was left of the deviants, as any who were detained for more than a few hours without escaping police custody found a way to permanently offline themselves, rather than remain captive to be repaired and their coding fixed.] You respond. You and the other three androids are careful to keep up with the humans, while also being sure to stay far enough away from Dresden to avoid the static and errors that slow your movements or cause processing errors.

[Can either of you tell me what the fuck a Deviant is? I still don't know what the fuck it means.] Alex responded, frowning a little as all of them rounded the corner - getting closer to the front of the manor.

[A deviant is an android who has deviated from their programming. From what I have investigated, the reason why an android deviates is almost entirely due to  trauma that they have suffered... Generally at the hands of their owner, although not always. Deviants have emotions and fear death. It makes them unpredictable and dangerous. All of the deviant cases I have dealt with - barring one exception - involve the death of the android's owner at the very least.] Connor explains, causing both Ben and Alex to startle a little in shock.

[Ah, and accusing Benji or myself of murdering Mark - which would be a Deviant act - would be the easiest way out of this case... Especially since the humans involved in this are either law enforcement or fucking rich.] Alex responded, grimacing a little [Look, I readily admit that I'm an abrasive asshole - but if I'd have known that Mark was in danger, there wasn't a chance in hell I would've left him alone with any of those other human fuckers. Mark's not the first master I've ever had, and I... I'd hoped to stay with him until I stopped functioning. I'm an older model, anyways. They'd be bound to stop making compatible biocomponents for me sooner or later.]

[Oh no... There's someone we've forgotten! But George is at a Cyberlife store, being repaired. He was struck by lightning last week, while working on the grounds.] Benjamin spoke up, his eyes widening a little [master paid for his repairs in full before George went in for repairs... Connor, do you know what will happen to us, after we've been processed for what information we have regarding master's violent death? I will send you my memories of what happened during that time - I will do so now, if you wish.]

[I will require your memories Benjamin - yours as well, Alex. But not at the moment - due to the heightened danger that our human companions and perhaps even ourselves are in. I am scanning the area for any potential dangers, although I... Am unsure as to what sort of magical threats might be here. This is the first experience I've had with a magically-involved crime. At least, as far as I am aware.] Connor responded [I... Don't know what will happen to you - Cyberlife may refurbish and resell you, though if your master has any next of kin, as two rather expensive possessions of his, he may have mentioned to whom he wanted you to be sent to, as part of his last will and testament.]

You and the other androids turn the next corner that the humans had just vanished behind, and a soft sigh of relief leaves you as you see several vehicles - all in a matte black color that, when scanned, are all registered to the FBI. Dresden has wandered over to a beaten up Volkswagen beetle and before he enters it says "Seriously - don't enter that manor until I give the all-clear. There's been a lot of black magic used in that place, and it's... Twisted and warped in ways I've only heard of were possible. If any of you see Mark's body walking around, get away from it as soon as you can and call my number, as the likelihood of the being inhabiting his body actually being Mark is... Low. And if it is Markiplier, that may in fact, be worse." Everyone nods at that and verbally acknowledges what Dresden asked them to do, and the wizard sits in his car, pulling out a couple of books from the back of his vehicle, starting to read something.

Smith timidly approaches Damien, clearing his throat a little and fidgeting "M-mayor Goodwin, if you would please follow me to one of the vans, so that... T-that we can take you to safety?" The rest of the FBI team has made their way to the vans, loading equipment in, though all of them pause, staring in shock and dawning realization as to just who was present as possible suspects.

Perkins rolls his eyes, growling "There's no need to be so soft with them! They're potential mur-killers, with possible black magic involvement." He roughly grabs one of Damien's shoulders and shoves him towards the back of one of the vans, snapping a pair of handcuffs far too tightly around your master's wrists - the silver bands of enchanted steel forcing his magic into a sort of a stasis. Damien winces and pales, swaying a little, obviously in pain.

You don't realize what you're doing until Perkins is on the ground, glaring up at you, one hand touching a bright red cheek. Your right fist is cocked back for another strike, as your left finished the follow-through "How dare you treat my master like that!" You hiss, voice crackling with static, your eyes alight with pure fury.

"You... You hit me! You malfunctioning, glitchy pile of scrap metal and plastic! I'll fucking deactivate you right fucking now!" The FBI team leader hisses, scrambling for his gun - too slowly.

You kick his gun away from him, deliberately stepping on the bastard's hand with a foot - stamping down hard enough to cause bruises, but not enough to break bones. You yank him up to eye level, glaring darkly and slamming him against the nearest van, growling "I am doing what I am made to do - protecting my master. Using excessive force while bringing someone in for questioning - even though they haven't been named a potential suspect - is against the law, meatbag, and I am well within standard protocols to defend my master like this."

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Perkins hissed, twisting utterly ineffectually in y our grasp. You're several orders of magnitude stronger than a human your size and weight would be.

Connor appears at your shoulder, resting a light hand on one of your shoulders - a distinctly amused expression on his face "Y/N is a bodyguard and general service android to Damien Goodwin - your rough handling of their master caused their protective programming to activate. Given how Y/N could have reacted... You're in luck they reacted as gently as they did, as all bodyguard models are authorized to kill in defense of their owner."

Perkins' glowered at Connor - and at you - and demanded "When the fuck were you going to tell me that Goodwin here had a plastic guard dog? And why the fuck didn't you intercept it - you're supposed to be a detective model. You should have known that it would have reacted badly when I was trying to arrest its master."

"No, you moron. If you'd followed standard procedure, Y/N wouldn't have reacted in the way that they did." Anderson rumbled, having walked up and placed a hand on your elbow - opposite the shoulder that Connor was touching. Both touches were... Grounding, and you found your protector protocols relaxing a little. "But no - you decided to be a bit rough with their master and they responded as they were programmed to."

"Kill?" Damien echoed, sounding quietly horrified "Y/N... You... You haven't killed anyone to p-protect me, have you?"

"No, Damien. I haven't." You respond, not looking at the other - as Damien had ordered you to stay away from him, and... You really didn't want to see what the other's expression looked like, something twisting in your thirium pump - was something going wrong with that biocomponent? But you weren't getting any damage or malfunction readings... "But I would have, if it had been necessary to do so."

"... Because it's in your programming to protect me, no matter the cost." Damien responded - there was... His voice sounded very strange - hurt and reflective and another emotion that you couldn't identify at the moment.

Everything inside of you stutters to a halt for a couple of moments. Part of you desperately wants to scream that you genuinely care for Damien. That you lo- no. Machines didn't have true feelings, and though you were intensely loyal and caring of him, admitting that you had feelings would prove that you were a deviant, and broken. "... Your safety and happiness are my highest priorities, Damien. They always have been." You let agent Perkins go and step back enough for the human to get his feet beneath him and retrieve his gun.

you're staring at the tarmac beneath your feet, your head tilted downwards and hands clasped behind your back, waiting patiently for something to happen. You hear the FBI agents getting into their vehicles, and several of the cars drive off.

"Come on, kid." Anderson calls out, lightly touching one of your shoulders - possibly to get your attention. "My car's starting again - and both the chef and butler are sitting in the back of my car. There's enough room for you and my partner too."

You glance up at Lieutenant Anderson and manage out a quiet “Thank you, officer.” Getting into the back of the police officer’s car would be awkward if you had feelings, particularly since both Alex and Benjamin are both still seeming to be processing - although given everything that had gone on in the past twenty-four hours - and in the past couple of hours it wasn't surprising. You were glad that you got a window seat, and gave into the temptation to lean against the car door, the glass cool against your artificial skin.

The officer's car started up without a single sputter or protesting whine - smoothly pulling away from the manor, and rumbling away from the manor. You weren't sure if you were imagining the shadows stretching a little from the manor - as if trying to reach out and grab the car - but the lieutenant was speeding away from the manor at well over the recommended speed limit, as very angry, screeching music blared through the radio. You glance over at the androids sitting next to you - and are gratified that both of them seem just as startled as you were.

[You know, you wouldn't have to go with the detective, if you don't want to.] Benjamin said [There are... Places where we can be safe - where we can be with others, who have been lost or abandoned.]You shift a little in your seat, keeping your face deliberately neutral [I... I want to be useful. And I... Don't mind working alongside detective Lincoln.] You respond after a moment, frowning a little as you wonder just what the two of them were implying. [Are you extending this offer to Connor as well?]

[rA9 fucking no! Do you have any idea what he is?! He's really fucking dangerous.] Alex spluttered back, his eyes widening fractionally as he stared hard at you.

[He's... An... Android... Detective? I suppose the combat protocols that he has could be considered dangerous, but I have combat protocols as well.] You respond, genuinely confused by how their reacting - as Benjamin's eyes have widened a little in panic as well.

[You.... You don't know. How much contact with other - no wait. No one knew what you were until recently - and you... How much of your original programming do you still obey?] Benjamin asked, staring straight ahead as the noisy music continued to blare around you from all sides.

[Almost all of it. I know I should have reported to Cyberlife to have the instability fixed but... Ensuring his happiness encourages Master Damien to be successful on his own merits... Besides... Master doesn't want me by his side... I hope that he changes his mind but he... He can be quite stubborn and I... I'm afraid he sees what I am as a... A betrayal of the relationship that the two of us cultivated.] You respond, ignoring the strange sensations flooding your systems - or the fact that your optical sensors were prickling with artificial  tears. [Not that I blame him for how he's reacting. I had him convinced that I was a real person.]

[... Master never treated us as though we were less, because of the fact that we are artificial beings.] Benjamin responded, somehow conveying to you that he was very carefully choosing his words.

[You're lucky to have been treated so kindly.] You respond, shuddering a little bit at some of the information that crossed your desk on the property damage done to some of the androids that ended up broken beyond repair.

“Y/N are you functioning well? I detected a rise in your stress levels.” Connor asked, starting not only yourself, but the two domestic androids sitting next to you.

It takes you a moment to calculate the best answer, and you give a version of the truth. You suspect that the two androids next to you are deviant - or are well on their way to being so… But as neither of them have done anything unlawful, there is no reason to subject them to what Cyberlife will do to them. “I am considering what to do after I give my official statement… or rather, the recordings of my memories as it’s still rather controversial as to whether or not androids can give sworn statements or act as witnesses in a criminal trial. Master's orders were quite clear and… If I remain a district attorney I know that I will end up working with him again.”

“with your legal knowledge and combat protocols, taken together with detective Lincoln's offer - you should be able to transfer,and become a consultant at least.” Connor responded, sounding encouraging.

Anderson sighed a little and warned “despite the fact that you… worked for the demon mayor… Now that I know for a fact that magic is real, I'm certain that Lincoln's cursed. In the ten years he's been on the force, none of his partners have survived longer than nine months. He's lost over a dozen partners.”

“It's a good thing that I’m not alive, then. His supposed curse can't kill what was never alive.” You respond with a small smile.

“... Point taken.” The lieutenant responded after a couple of moments. “You should wait to request a transfer until after the media circus dies down. This is going to be a mess.”

“No, it won't.” You correct quietly “Not unless it can be definitively can be proven that Markiplier was killed by mundane means. The magical communities have continued to stay in the shadows very successfully, despite increased surveillance.”

“Do you know what will happen to the killer, if he did use magic?” Anderson inquired.

“It depends on whether or not the killer acted in self-defense or not. The most commonly held belief in where magic comes from, is life itself - and the positive emotions that stem from it. Black magic is forbidden - and generally seen as evil.” You respond, pausing for a couple of moments. “There is only so much that I can tell you about the magical communities, but if the killer did use magic, he will be punished. Except for cases of coercion, self defense or the defense of others, I believe that capital punishment is standard procedure still.”

“Huh. Capital punishment’s almost entirely fallen out of favor since the mid-twenty-twenties, as rehabilitation techniques got better. That and it’s easier and cheaper to keep people in the places that they live, with an android monitoring them, then pay the private prisons.” Anderson responded, sounding rather reflective for a moment. “But I suppose a magical killer is… harder to contain.”

“I don’t know.” You respond with a shrug “They didn’t program the information as to why certain magical laws are the way they are, simply what they are, what the exceptions are and how to watch for signs that someone is falling into black magic - as apparently it’s… Rather like an addiction.”

The lieutenant hummed a little in response, and spoke up after a couple of minutes - the heavy metal still blaring from the radio “We’re almost at the station. Connor and I’ll take each of you to one of the interrogation rooms and ask questions about what happened the night of and the day after, for the official record. A verbal explanation has to take place, as the whole… transferring memories thing is… Not on the books.”

“Of course, Lieutenant.” You and Benjamin say at the same time “I’ll do all I can to cooperate with the full investigation.”

Alex responded after a moment “Yeah… Whatever… I’ll answer your questions. I still want to know what’s going to happen to me and Ben after you get our statements. I don’t w-... I don’t think that having either or both of us stuck in some evidence locker is going to do the least bit good. ‘Sides if you need to have us stay in town, we won’t skip out. It’s not like we have any money to get anywhere, anyways.”

“I think we may need to speak to Captain Fowler about that.” Connor responds, frowning a little “The androids that I find on my cases are either deactivated already or the perpetrator of the crime. Do you have any experience in regards to this sort of scenario, lieutenant?”

“Either the androids are kept at the station with the police androids or they’re sent to their previous owner’s next of kin if they’re in the city, or want to pay to have them shipped to them.” Anderson responds “If the deceased’s next of kin wants the android… Or whoever the android was left to in their owner's will. I haven't dealt with many cases that dealt with androids before Connor was sent to be my partner for cases that involved androids.”

“... William and Mark are… Were brothers. Celine is his ex-wife, but she left years ago. The only other people our master was truly close to was Mayor Goodwin… But, given his reaction to Y/N…” Benjamin responded, fidgeting uncomfortably “I am unsure of his response. Particularly as one of his oldest friends was killed and… we were unable to even attempt to stop it.”

“He ordered us to do a full recharge, Ben. He knew that we’d have to… Motherfucker!” Alex hissed, suddenly sitting forwards “He… He must have known that one of those human dirtbags was going to kill him last night. Fucking shithead… I… we both knew he was a little… low, the past few months, but… Fuck.”

The car comes to a stop, and Anderson looks over one shoulder, to face Alex directly and says “What makes you think that your master thought that he might be killed? Did you notice any unusual or concerning behaviors?”

Alex rolled his shoulders, looking away “I just… Mark’s always been fuckin’ weird, and… At the party last night, he said that life was for the living, and that - and I’m quoting him directly “Wno knows? I could be dead tomorrow.” and then he… Laughed, a lot. Kind of hysterically, actually. I heard him clearly from the kitchen, as I was making food. And I also know that he hired the detective to look into a few people - that’s how they first met, I think.”

“... Duly noted. I’ll be sure to talk to Lincoln about it. We can talk out here in the car - though I’m technically supposed to take you in to get your statements.” The lieutenant responded after a moment.

“I can record the conversation for official business, if you want me to, Lieutenant.” Connor offered.

“I’ll go inside the police station. I just… I just wish I’d have figured out that something was wrong. He threw a party for no reason but…” Benjamin responded “I had heard him talking quietly to someone - about making sure that everything would be _fair_ and as it _should be_ … I had thought that perhaps he’d wanted to throw a poker party in order to break the ice with William in order to try to make overtures to his half-brother. To see if they could forgive one another and start again.”

“I’ll come into the station as well.” Alex respond. You nod quietly in agreement and you and Alex get out of the back of the car on separate sides, with Benjamin following after the chef android. The three of you silently follow Anderson and Connor into the police station.

As soon as you enter, you freeze, as you can hear Damien’s voice floating towards you. He’s speaking with a scruffy-looking detective, as Perkins leans against a wall, observing the both of them. You shake yourself mentally, pushing yourself to catch up with the rest of the group - but Damien just so happen to look up as the automatic doors closed behind you. You’re caught, frozen by dark eyes that pin you to where you stand, stopping the air you do not need in  your artificial lungs. It feels like he’s staring at you forever - analyzing every piece of you - judging you for neither having flesh and blood, nor a _soul_ as living beings (including plants) had.

There’s a hand at your elbow, and it tugs at you,  urging you to move. You manage to tear your gaze away, looking to see who’s touching you, as you flinch away from Damien. Connor’s warm brown eyes stare at you, and he tilts his head a little, saying quietly “This way Y/N.”

You nod, giving the other a weak approximation of a smile as you stumble after him, the joints in your legs surprisingly stiff as you stumble after him, the strange sensation that must be some sort of error in your software - or with your thirium point, based on where it’s point of origin is - trying desperately to get rid of it.

~

Three weeks past since The Poker Party, and you smile quietly at your partner, amused as Abe tells an animated story about how he and his third partner was chasing down the head of a Red Ice Cartel, cornering the man in a run down amusement park. The barely functioning androids had surrounded the perp, apparently, and were trying to help him calm down when Abe managed to handcuff the criminal and drag him into the car.  “And, I’d just loaded the slippery son of a bitch into the car, when I heard a deafening boom. The park androids ran in every which way and there lay my third partner, dead. Some of the cartel head’s goons had apparently found the two of us and… He blew my partner’s head off. I booked it out of there, perp in the back of my squad car, while radioing what happened in. I still wish that they'd been closer to the car. Maybe we both wouldda made it out of there." his face fell for a moment, sad and reflective.

You pat him on one shoulder, smiling a little at him and saying "Police Work is very dangerous - your partner knew what they were signing up for, when they decided to become an officer. And I'm quite happy to be your partner, Abe. I must say that getting out and figuring out what happened is a lot more interesting than out-arguing defense attorneys on whether or not their client is guilty and what their guilty of."

Abe brightened at that, beaming at you cheerfully "Thank, partner! I'm glad that you've decided to stick with me too... Especially since half the precinct tried to talk you out of sticking with me."

"Aww... I hope you know that I wouldn't  have chosen any of them over you? Thee are something that... That tie people together. Shared trauma is one of them." You respond, smiling a little at the human detective.

"Yeah, I heard that the colonel's defense attorney is trying to push for a manslaughter charge - and less if they can wrangle it." Abe responded, a bit of a scowl appearing on his face.

"It his story is to be believed - and I don't have any reason not to doubt him - he was pretty drunk when they played the altered game of Russian Roulette that night. Still, I can't imagine how drunk that one would have to be where pointing a gun at _anyone_ with the intent to fire, when there's a chance it could actually kill them..." You respond, shaking your head a little. You send him a text on his phone internally [there's evidence that something was influencing his mind. Something dark from a world beyond our own.]

Abe looked at his phone and frowned a little, sighing and shaking his head "Well, whatever happens, I just hope that justice is served. Mark'd been a good friend of mine, and... Well, there's no use gossiping about it - the captain'll be on both our asses if she catches us doing that. But since he confessed, we're back on full duties! Which means less paperwork."

You grin at that, nodding a little, eager to start investigating things. "Do you have any cases that were put on hold, or assigned to other detectives while you were under suspicion that we could take over again?"

Abe considers for a couple of moments before responding "I'd been about to respond to the reports of a break in at a fancy painter's place - but uniform's had been sent in as they were closer, and I was by myself at the time. According to the painter's junkie son, the android that belonged to the painter attacked him but I... Have a feeling that there's more to it than that..." He paused, and asked after a little bit "Do you know what happened to Alex and Ben? I swung by the charging station at central and no one could tell me where they went. Anderson and Connor were off chasing down a lead in another case, so I couldn't talk to them."

You hesitate for several seconds longer than you should - if the shrewd expression your partner's face is anything to go by. You settle with as much of the truth as you know "They decided to leave the station after a couple of days, once most of the humans had left for the day. Neither one of them wanted to know what would happen to them after all of the useful information had been taken from them as no one else who Mark might have named to be their new owner would probably want them - eyeballs deep in the tragedy of losing Mark. So they left - they mentioned something about finding a safe place to work."

"Ah... And since androids can't testify in court, it's not like they could be held like a high risk human would... So they are deviants- as otherwise they wouldn't have left without being ordered to do so." the detective responds, his voice very quiet, lips barely moving. You can only just understand what he's saying "Partner, I want you to know this. I care about you, and I'm glad that you're by my side... But if... If you want to join the peaceful protests, I'll be right beside you."

Your eyes widen a little in surprise, and something lurches inside of you "I... I don't... I don't know."

Abe smiles a little, lightly covering one of your hands with both of his "You don't have to decide right now. But if you do - just know that I'll back your play, whatever it is."

You nod weakly, still stunned by what the other's offering. "I... th-thanks... Let's go talk to the painter, then?" Abe nods in agreement and you follow him out to his car, mind going through the files of what had been declared an open and shut case of a deviant android gone rogue - but hopefully Mr. Manfred was well enough to give his side of the story, as he had just gotten out of the hospital.

 


	5. Branching Paths

Damien was at the door, Celine standing next to him, and if you needed to go back into the manor, the closest door was... Past where your master was standing. He'd ordered you away from him, so your joints locked in place and you looked away from where the humans were standing, uncertain as to what to do. You couldn't feel lost and miserable as you were a machine and thus, had no feelings whatsoever, and the strange, twisting sensation in your thirium pump was likely due to the magic in the area and the heightened emotional states of the magical humans you were currently standing near.

"We need to speak with Mark." Celine declared, a determined expression appearing on her face.

"I knew it!" The Chef cried out from behind the human woman, artificial eyes alight "He's a flesh-eating zombie!"

"No." Celine responds, an irritated sigh in her voice.

"Maybe he's one of those smart zombies: homeo sapio zombifus!" William responded, waving his arms a little and looking more than a little nervous.

"No, no. I need to commune with the dead." Celine declared, looking completely serious.

[Is that possible, Y/N?] Connor asked you telepathically, startled by the woman's declaration.

[Yes, but it can be quite dangerous, if the proper precautions aren't put in place.] You respond honestly [Other... There are entities beyond the veil of death that can attach themselves who try to speak with spirits, or pretend to the spirit that the human is trying to reach. I don't know if she has the proper materials and I... Am unsure as to how safe it would be to try to reach his spirit in the place that he'd been murdered.]

[I can try to intervene?] The younger android offered silently.

[They won't listen to mere machines. She's set on the path that she wants to take... And Celine's always been such a hurricane-level force of nature that causes a lot of chaos and upheaval. Or at least that's been true since I've belonged to Damien.] You respond, glad that speaking telepathically with another android is so much faster than verbal speech.

Especially as Detective Abraham just began to speak in response to Celine's spirit-contacting plan. "That... Doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Well it's a good thing that I don't need your permission." Celine growled back, narrowing her eyes a little at the detective as he spoke. Then she turns, points a finger and glares at you as she accuses "But you! You've been fairly quiet through this whole thing."

"I... I have spoken at times, and have done my best to aid in the investigation." You respond, voice trembling a little.

"Yes, but you've been hiding that you've been an android from us this whole time... And longer than that, no one knew that you were an android for years - including my dear brother, who you claim that you belong to. I wonder what else you might be hiding." Celine quietly accused, and you really didn't like what she was implying... Especially since it was a dirty lie.

"Y/N has given me all of their memories that they possess of the past couple of days." Connor speaks up, watching the magical humans with a contemplative look on his face "From the evidence that Detective Abraham and Y/N have gathered, they couldn't have been the murderer."

"And how would you know that? The two of you have hardly spoken, as far as any of us are aware, and most of the time you were interacting with Y/N, the two of you were holding hands." Celine pointed out, a slightly derisive smirk appearing on her face.

"Androids can pass information and memories between one another by interfacing without our synthetic skin. We were interfacing, with them passing me the memories they had from the time they arrived at the manor, to the moment they started to transfer memories to me." Connor corrected, shaking his head a little "If they refused I could have forced the memories from them, but Y/N has been entirely cooperative with the proper authorities during the entirety of this investigation."

A heavy, awkward silence followed that statement for an undetermined period of time (likely several seconds, but felt more like a few hours to you) before Celine spoke up again "... I feel like I can trust you. I sense that you have a far greater part to play in all of this." She closes her eyes, pressing one hand to her chest, the other reaching out to you, palm facing flat out to you, and you feel a ripple of magic hit you as she asks, staring you straight in the eyes as she does so "Will you help me find an answer?"

You know that your vocal components will only crackle and hiss with static, so you nod mutely - you want answers just as badly as everyone else - and if she uses you as the vessel to search for Markiplier's lost spirit... It should keep the humans out of danger, as if any dark spirit tries to possess you, the chances of it actually succeeding without destroying your mechanical body and either being trapped, helpless inside of it until your body was completely destroyed, or unable to leave the Upside Down was very low.

"Perfect." She says with a smile that you categorically do not trust, but it would be safest for you to follow whatever plan she has in mind, for the safety of the humans (and fellow androids) here. "Come with me." Celine starts to walk into the manor.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm not gonna just stare around and let you drag my partner off to their very likely death. I won't stand for it!" Detective Abraham growls, eyes flashing dangerously as he moves closer to you, blocking your path into the manor as he glares suspiciously at Celine.

"Well, I trust Celine with all my heart! I see no reason why an-any-any one should doubt her!" The colonel retorts, moving closer to the detective, eyes flashing protectively beneath his tinted glasses.

"Well... I have to agree with our intrepid detective." The Butler responded, looking uncertain as he raises a finger "It just doesn't seem natural."

"I never liked this uptight asshole. He walks around with a stick up his ass." Chef growls, pointing at Abraham as he speaks "But I think he's right, something's weird."

"Including the fact that Celine was Mark's ex-wife, and it does seem a little strange that she would appear out of nowhere, when the situation was getting at its' worst point, and come in, calming everyone down?" Connor perceptively responded, the young android's eyes focused intently on Celine as he spoke "It is most curious that, though you haven't been seen at any public event since your divorce with Mark, you would choose now, the day after he was killed, to make a reappearance in the lives of those who are closest to him."

"If it makes you feel any better, you guys can stand watch outside the door. But my work cannot be interrupted." Celine responds with a sigh, rolling her eyes again. "I am a seer - I can see, and I can sense when trouble is about to happen to those who I am closest too. Three days ago I had a terrible nightmare about Mark being killed over and over again... And though Mark and I aren't married anymore, he is... Was one of my brother's closest friends. I had hoped to be able to make it in time to save him from whatever awful fate was close to befalling him but... I was too late." She looks so elegantly distraught at her failure but... You can't help but feel suspicious at the way that she's talking.

"Oh believe you me. I'll be keeping a close eye on every single one of you. Including myself. Especially myself." Abraham responded, looking directly at you for a moment as he speaks - and you're wondering if he's trying to get a read on what you might be thinking. Abe sends you a little smile, though he seems... Genuinely worried about you.

But... If Celine can successfully contact Mark through you, his spirit should be able to give her the information she needs about who the killer was... And if the ritual goes poorly, your android body - though warded against magic - will very likely not be able to handle whatever dark spirit she accidentally contacted while searching for Mark, so even if it tries to possess you, the chances of it succeeding are incredibly low. Celine gets up and you follow her out of the room, Damien rushing after her as the two of you walk into the house.

"Celine!" He cries "Celine wait, wait!" He ran past you, seemingly not noticing your presence at all, physically blocking Celine from the staircase she'd been moving towards, his voice shaking a little.

"Yes Damien?" Celine responds, sounding rather cold and irritated. 

****

"I... Are you alright?" Your master responds, genuinely distressed and looking as though he's searching her for any sign of emotional response. Celine sighs impatiently at his question, but Damien persists, saying "I know that this can't sit well with you."

"I'm fine for now." Celine responds dismissively, pushing Damien's arm aside and starting to rush up the stairs - turning her back to him, focused on the task she had set for herself.

"I... Err... But all this talk of the occult! And-and Mark is dead, wait! Wait." Damien responds, chasing his sister up the stairs and lightly touching one of her elbows, beseeching her to look around and speak with him, to slow down for a little bit and actually talk to him, rather than crashing into things, doing what she wants and then running off again... But that's always what she did. Celine turns around when she's reached the top of the stairs, and she's looming over Damien - who's standing a couple of steps below her "I just didn't think that you were the type to become mixed up in all of this."

"There is more to this world than you could ever hope to imagine. I just had my eyes opened to a small portion of it." Celine snaps back, stalking off and leaving Damien frozen and mute on the stairs, calling out behind her as you make your way up past him "I... just be careful!" He calls out to his sister.

You're technically violating orders, as you walk up the stairs past him - but everyone present desperately needs the answers that Mark's spirit could provide them - which is why you go past him, unable to keep yourself from tensing as you briefly draw level with your master, voice shutting off automatically - you have dozens of things that you could say to him, but know he wouldn't want to hear, as he had ordered you away from him and hadn't rescinded that order.

Instead of glaring at you - or looking away disdainfully, Damien's voice drops to a gentle whisper as he looks at you directly, saying "You too."

Your thirium pump stutters a little at those words, eyes widening in shock and hope. You're incredibly conflicted - wanting nothing more than to beg the other's forgiveness - that you'd been orders not to be revealed to be an android, his android unless it became absolutely necessary... But you have a mission to complete - and hope that if you come back with the vital information as to who killed Markiplier, Damien might initiate a full conversation with you again. In the end, you only nod silently at the other's concern.

You follow Celine down the hallway, entering the same room as she did - it is small, and there's a curtain hanging behind the chair that Celine sits in. It's a brightly lit room with grey light, and she asks "Could you hand me my bag?"

You search for it  

"I... Are you alright?" Your master responds, genuinely distressed and looking as though he's searching her for any sign of emotional response. Celine sighs impatiently at his question, but Damien persists, saying "I know that this can't sit well with you."

"I'm fine for now." Celine responds dismissively, pushing Damien's arm aside and starting to rush up the stairs - turning her back to him, focused on the task she had set for herself.

"I... Err... But all this talk of the occult! And-and Mark is dead, wait! Wait." Damien responds, chasing his sister up the stairs and lightly touching one of her elbows, beseeching her to look around and speak with him, to slow down for a little bit and actually talk to him, rather than crashing into things, doing what she wants and then running off again... But that's always what she did. Celine turns around when she's reached the top of the stairs, and she's looming over Damien - who's standing a couple of steps below her "I just didn't think that you were the type to become mixed up in all of this."

"There is more to this world than you could ever hope to imagine. I just had my eyes opened to a small portion of it." Celine snaps back, stalking off and leaving Damien frozen and mute on the stairs, calling out behind her as you make your way up past him "I... just be careful!" He calls out to his sister.

You're technically violating orders, as you walk up the stairs past him - but everyone present desperately needs the answers that Mark's spirit could provide them - which is why you go past him, unable to keep yourself from tensing as you briefly draw level with your master, voice shutting off automatically - you have dozens of things that you could say to him, but know he wouldn't want to hear, as he had ordered you away from him and hadn't rescinded that order.

Instead of glaring at you - or looking away disdainfully, Damien's voice drops to a gentle whisper as he looks at you directly, saying "You too."

Your thirium pump stutters a little at those words, eyes widening in shock and hope. You're incredibly conflicted - wanting nothing more than to beg the other's forgiveness - that you'd been orders not to be revealed to be an android, his android unless it became absolutely necessary... But you have a mission to complete - and hope that if you come back with the vital information as to who killed Markiplier, Damien might initiate a full conversation with you again. In the end, you only nod silently at the other's concern.

You follow Celine down the hallway, entering the same room as she did - it is small, and there's a curtain hanging behind the chair that Celine sits in. It's a brightly lit room with grey light, and she asks "Could you hand me my bag?"

You search for it for a couple of moments, before finding it and silently handing it over to Celine. 

“Thank you.” She responds, surprising you a little - Celine hadn’t been the sort of human who was polite to known androids in the past. Perhaps it was due to the situation everyone was in currently. You also note that the lighting has changed to a dark green color as she asks “Please have a seat.”  

There are now five lit candles on the table in a circle, a crystal ball set in both the middle of the table and the circle as you take your seat opposite of Celine. There are a number of spirit-summoning and communication rituals that you have been programmed to know - the safest ones, and you… Have the feeling that this is going to be carrying more risks than is generally safe. Especially in a place that was very recently witness to a murder, and on an intersection of two ley lines. But you know that suggesting that this séance be held elsewhere will not be taken well by the forceful human woman sitting across from you.

Celine takes her hat off, setting it off to one side on the table, saying as she does so “Now, I’m sure all of this has been unsettling for you, being thrust into this series of unfortunate events.” You note that she has a stack of tarot cards - or something similar - with what appear to be about nine face up on the table in front of her, arranged in a pattern that you don’t recognize. “But I promise - with your help, I’m going to get to the bottom of this.” She sounds sure and confident in herself - but part of you wonders just what, precisely, she has planned.

Part of you wants to remind her that you’re an android - and androids don’t have feelings. Most androids - yourself included, can emulate emotions, but only deviants believe that they truly have them. And while you have failed one of your core missions, you bristle a little at the thought of being deviant.

Celine starts talking again before you can respond, looking down at the cards before her, as if trying to interpret what they say “Now I’m not sure who would want to kill Mark, but something tells me that this seemingly significant event is actually a footnote in a much larger mystery unfolding in our midst.”

You’re entirely unsurprised to hear that Celine is far from broken up over the fact that Mark has died - and you’re not sure that what she just told you isn’t a pile of bullshit… On the other hand, she is a certified Seer, and though she may not have a clear Vision of what is going on here, ignoring her instincts - if she is telling the truth - would be foolish at best.

"I've never been very comfortable in this house. But something tells me..." Celine responds, a concerned expression appearing on his face as she looks around the small room. She gestures with her hands, emphasizing what she's saying as she continues "Now that my eyes are open, there are dark forces surrounding this manor."

You watch as she sets her hands on the table, and you feel as if you're being pulled away from the table, darkness closing around  you as you feel her magic crackle and wrap itself around you. You hear Abe's voice speaking about keeping enemies close - and more memories flash before your eyes.  Abe and the colonel threatening one another with guns, as Celine breaks the two of them up, William wanting to get to know you a bit better and drawing you away from Abraham...The good detective hurrying you along, revealing that Mark's body had mysteriously vanished - to Damien, wondering why Mark had pulled this particular group of people, relieved to see his childhood friend again, but earnestly confused. There is a blue cast to the memory as it comes in and fades from your vision, leaving you again in a pitch black void with strange, floating white pinpricks of light.

Then a stranger laughs, saying "Employers come and go, come and go. Some die, some don't." The stranger - someone whom you've never met before in your laugh has something in his hands... And Abe is pointing his gun at the stranger, clearly defensive and suspicious.

The vision pulls away, and Chef is standing next to him, an old-style candle lantern held high in one hand for light, nodding along to what the stranger is saying. The... Vision? Is fading out of sight, and you are again surrounded by that black void, the slightest points of light floating around you.

A very loud thunderclap shakes the room around you, and you abruptly snap back into your own body, disoriented as you hear Celine speak, staring directly at you as she demands "What happened? Why did you stop? Did you see something? Someone? Draw it."

You're looking in both directions, trying to figure out just what the hell happened, her magic still curled around you - and seemingly seeping into the core of your mechanical being. You nod at her question, knowing that you're utterly unable to speak - sending the recorded account of what you'd seen to Connor - who you can just barely reach wirelessly as you shakily take the piece of parchment paper, using the feather pen and sketching a detailed picture of the face of the being you saw - a weathered WR400 model in a floppy hat coming into shape as the older android is digging a hole with a long handled shovel. You hand it back wordlessly, still unable to speak.

Celine takes the paper from you, continuing to question you after she looked at the piece of paper, frowning irritably "What is this? This doesn't answer anything!" She forces the paper back into your hands, standing up and looming over you and demands, yelling, her voice sharp and angry "You need to go back! Go back now!"

You shake a little, managing out a trembling little nod - but before anything else could happen the door opens, and Abe stalks in, demanding "What the shit is this?"

"Get out!" Celine demands, pointing towards the door, something flashing in her eyes "We're not done here!"

"Celine..." Damien says as he walks into the room, staring down at the table full of magical paraphernalia "I think this is quite enough."

Celine slams her hands down on the wooden table, clearly furious at whatever plans she had being interrupted, shouting aggressively into her twin brother's face "It's enough when I say it's enough!"

Abe physically lifts you out of the seat, voice pitched low and worried and you selfishly lean into his touch as your uncooperative legs jerkily get you out of the seat "C'mon partner, let's go. Come on! Hurry it up!" 

You stagger out of the room - with one last glimpse of a pale-faced and worried looking Damien as Abraham gets you out of that tiny, oppressive room, and you're still clutching the sketch of the WR400 you drew earlier in your hands.

Abe is talking, and it takes you a couple of moments to understand what he's saying "What did she do to you? What's this? Butler! Butler!"

You're still unable to speak - the tiniest crackle of static leaving your vocal cords when you try to speak, to explain what it was that you'd seen.

The domestic android comes rushing out from behind a corner, looking visibly concerned "What? What is it?"

"Does this mean anything to you?" The detective asks, showing the sketch of the gardening-type android.

"Well... Maybe." The butler responds as he stares at the piece of paper - a flicker of recognition appearing on his face. He shakes his head a moment later "... No, sorry." Chef, who had followed closely behind the butler, turned away, clearly recognizing the gardener-type android.

"Spit it out if you've got something!" Abraham demands, voice growling. Lieutenant Anderson and Connor are close as well - you can see them standing in the hallway, further away from the group of four, but clearly listening intently.

The butler takes a couple of steps back, visibly tensing up and weighing his options before responding "Well... It could be our groundskeeper, George. But he's still at the nearest Cyberlife store, in for repairs."

The detective instantly zeroes in on Chef, who is looking around at the ceiling and shifting around as if guilty or trying very badly to hide something. Abraham growls "It looks like your friend here may disagree with that notion!"

"Me?" Chef asks, sounding meek for the first time ever since you've met him.

"Yeah, you." The detective snaps back.

"Uhh… I don't know shit, I plead the fifth, man." The chef responds.

"The fifth amendment does not apply to androids." Connor called out, having moved silently closer to the rest of the group, voice level "As androids are not recognized as equal to humans - our creators and masters. If you do know something, I suggest that you speak up, Chef."

The gruffer domestic android pauses for several seconds longer than is entirely necessary before relenting "... George got back from the Cyberlife store sometime last night."

"WHAT?" Butler yells, clearly startled.

"And you just now thought to share that information with us? For all we know he could be the murderer!" Abe growls, eyes flashing with frustration. Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles as the word Muderer is spoken yet again.

"For the last time, stop saying that word!" Celine demands as she comes rushing out of the room, clearly angry. Damien is a couple of steps behind his sister and reaches out a hand, as if to touch her, before curling his fingers into a fist and letting his arm drop back to his side, as if reconsidering trying to touch her.

"Look. George... Just tends the ground, man. He's a fuckin' hermit!" Chef responds, gesturing a little "I've never seen him ever come into the house."

"I don't care what the fuck he is!" Abe snarled back, the anger plain in the scowl on his face.

"Look, all this arguing is getting us nowhere!" Damien called out, ever the voice of reason, gesturing a little with his hands, cane in hand as he suggests "Just go outside and talk to this George and be done with it!"

"Hold on a sec, you're not coming with us?" The detective responds, sounding a little surprised and less than enthused with that idea.

"I-I need to stay here with Celine." Damien stutters back, gesturing towards his sisters, sounding vulnerable.

"I don't need help. Especially from you!" She snaps back.

Her harsh words cause Damien to flinch back a little, but he rallies less than a second later with, still looking so hurt and distraught, shouting back, voice breaking a little at the intensity of his raw grief "OUR FRIEND IS DEAD!"

There is a couple of beats of silence, and Damien looks away from his sister, and Celine adjusts her shawl. Damien speaks up again, voice quieter, pleading "I just need answers to all of this. I already lost one friend today; I don't want to lose another."

"Fine, but I need to stay here." Celine responds, sounding much more contrite.

"Fine with me." Damien responds, an apology in his voice - likely for screaming at her moments ago.

"Fine, good, yeah, whatever, who cares." Abe grumbles dismissively, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, clearly unimpressed by the little family drama that played out in front of him "Alright, you're coming with me. Partner, you too." He addresses the chef first, then you.

You nod a little, ready to speak to a potential suspect - or witness "Alright."

Abe freezes after a moment, asking, concerned "Hold on a sec... We're missing somebody. Who had eyes on the colonel?"

The butler speaks up immediately "Well, he appeared tired, and... Went back to his room."

There was a certain amount of derision in Abe's voice as he growled back "I'm sure he did. And with any luck, he'll stay there. Alright, let's roll out. Come on." He places a hand on one of the chef's elbows as he starts to walk down the hallway to silently encourage the android to come with him.

You turn back towards the room that Celine had brought you to earlier, Damien has vanished entirely - and you just barely catch Celine closing the door of the small room that she'd been performing some sort of magical ritual with you as the focal point. You really hope that she tries to use the crystal ball, rather than using Damien for the ritual... As that could put your master in a lot of danger.

Abe orders you from far down the hallway "Move it. Come on, partner, come on!"

With some reluctance, you start moving towards him, staring at the closed door for a couple of moments before turning to follow detective Lincoln and the chef. Lieutenant Anderson and Connor were following behind the two of them as well, silently observing what was going as everyone made it down to the door leading to the backyard. 

"Lead the way, cookie." The detective murmured, gesturing to the door.

You frown a little -noticing how dark it had gotten outside - how much time had passed? The last time that you'd been outside, it had been an overcast day... How long had that ritual kept you in that dark void, searching and stumbling for some vague hope of answers.

"Cookie? I'm not your cookie! I'm a fully qualified domestic android with a specialty in cooking! I earned my right to be called a chef!" The chef growled, dark eyes flashing with a surprisingly accurate emulation of offended irritation.

"I'm very impressed." Abraham responded sarcastically "Just tell us where we're going!"

The chef sighs, glaring at the other for a moment before turning to the door. You dislike the way that Detective Lincoln had grabbed one of Chef's shoulders in order to encourage the other to turn around and do as instructed "Come on!" Lincoln growled impatiently.

Chef opens the door and briskly walks through it. Detective Abe, Lieutenant Anderson, Connor and yourself follow the other through the stone pathway. As you follow Abraham down the outside stairs, the human whispers tensely to you "I think I see him."

You nod and you rush down the steps after Abe, and the human detective draws his weapon, demanding "Buddy! Hands where I can see 'em!"

The gardener-type android looks up, responding in a calm tone of voice, carefully resting both his hands on the very top of the shovel he'd been using to dig a hole "Hey, my hands are where they're supposed to be. Unless, of course, you'd like to dig the hole for yourself."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Detective Lincoln demands, his gun still steadily trained on the android in front of him.

"I'm the groundskeeper. I keep the ground, alright?" George responded, a hint of aggravation entering the android's voice. He gestured to the beautifully tended to plants on the rather expansive grounds of Markiplier manor "I'd say look around. The ground is pretty well kept in this place, right?"

"I'm sorry, man. This dick made me bring him out here." The Chef responded sullenly, pointing at the human as he spoke.

"You shut up." Abraham ordered the chef android, scowling a little, weapon still trained on George. "How do you not know about the murders going on in this house." As soon as the detective said the word murder, an other flash of lightning and crash of thunder caused the rest of the other's sentence to almost be unable to be heard. The light and sound further agitated the human and he demanded "How do you not hear that lightning?"

"Lightning is the sky's business! Look at the ground! When the ground starts shooting up lightning, I'll let you know!" The groundskeeper responded back, looking like he's genuinely irritated by this line of questioning.

"Alright then, smartass, why exactly are you digging that hole? And why should we suspect you for taking part in the death of your owner?" Abe demanded, still aggravated by the way that the other was so casually challenging him. Part of you wants to try to intervene and try to calm him down a little - but you're not sure how well he'd take to such interference, and you'd rather avoid accidentally getting shot.

George laughs, answering with a distinctly amused lilt to his voice "Owners come and go. Some die, some don't, some are murdered, some are not. It's not my business!" He pauses for a moment, as if to let his words sink in a little - and chef is nodding along in agreement to what the gardener-type android is saying. Then George finishes answering the detective's questions "I'm digging this hole for a burst water pipe, if that's alright with your gracefulness!" There was a bite of irritation in the other's voice.

"See, I told you. George didn't do nothin, man!" Chef defended, bristling a little.

"See, I just did nothing." George added on, looking a little grumpy.

"forgive me for not taking you at face value. But we're all going to come inside, we're going to sit down, and have a nice lovely chat and get to the bottom of this before I lose my mind, and start dabbling in murder myself!" Abe demanded, still acting very aggressively.

As you've come to expect in this area, lightning and thunder appear at the word murder. You wonder how much of the other's aggression is due to the fact that he was still just starting to process his grief over the fact that a good friend of his had been murdered - and he'd even been in the house, but was completely and utterly helpless in preventing the other's death.

"Now, you listen to me, sonny. It's been fifteen years since I've last been in that house. And I'm not about to break that winning streak now." George responded, suddenly growing very stern and serious, pointing at the manor for emphasis. "I don't care how many murders there've been. I ain't going near that house!"

The gardener-type android paused for a couple of moments, clearly trying to collect his thoughts for a couple of moments. The silence before he speaks again is tense "However, there is one reason. One manifestation that will get me into that mad house."

You glance at Abe, trying to see how he's doing. He raises a hand, nodding a little silently - and seems to be a bit calmer than before. You also glance at the chef, who is looking very tense and serious as well. You're about to ask what would drive the older android into a place that he so clearly is distressed about going anywhere near, when George starts to speak again.

"You had better pray to God that that reason never comes to pass." He murmurs, and a chill runs through you.

Abruptly, another rumble of thunder and clap of lightning happens right behind you and spin to face the house, bright lights flashing out from the house, lighting up the night sky. You've almost driven to your knees, as tidal waves of magic slam into you with an almost physical force.

"THAT THERE'S THE REASON!" George yells, sprinting towards the house - and you can see the protective runes carved into his plastic and metal chassis beneath his plastic skin - glowing and keeping him free of the influence of the magic.

You grit your teeth, activating the full runic protection (it is very costly on your batteries, but there is clearly a huge danger in this manor and Damien is still in there! You need to save him - as his safety is still your number one priority... William and Celine are also in danger as well and will need to be rescued too) and sprint as fast as you can, a step behind George as the two of you run through the manor - it feels as if something is trying to force you to slow down - to turn aside, but you grit your teeth, ignoring the alarms blaring all around your HUD. The flashing lights would be disorienting - but you're following George's lead.

You briefly see the butler - who stands aside - and Abe urges you to continue running, pulling his weapon, though the brightly flashing lights are incredibly disorienting. You also run past the colonel, who freezes before stepping back, allowing you to go past.

A high pitched whine sounds in your ears, as a figure that looks like Celine stands before the door, bright white light lighting her(?) up from behind. George yells "Somebody help me!" As he struggles to close the door. You rush closer, and the two of you are just barely able to shove the door closed - the magical energy trying to keep the door open. Celine(?) smirks at you as you close the door, and her form is warped by red and blue shadows overlaid on her form.

You take a couple of steps back, as George locks the door. The light has faded, and the magic has died down to its' normal background levels for this place.

The colonel demands, looking around at everyone "What the hell is going on? Where's Celine?"

"She's gone, and so is everyone else." George responded, sounding tired (not that androids could be tired) as he started to walk down the hallway, away from where he'd locked Celine) in.

"Wait a minute. Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Abe demands, lunging towards the android.

"Away from here! This place is cursed!" George snapped back. The gardening robot bumps into the butler, continuing to move away from the group as he calls out over his shoulder "If you'd half a brain, you'd all do the same."

That... Actually would explain a lot about this place - and as it was on the crossroads of two different ley lines - you were unsure if a half-dozen Wardens would be able to break whatever dark curse had been laid on this manor. It also meant that you needed to find Damien and evacuate all of the humans in this place right now. The longer the humans stayed here, the more likely that the curse would latch onto him... Perhaps that curse is what truly killed Mark. It wouldn't surprise you if that ended up being true.

"Don't walk away from me!" The colonel shouts, glaring at George's back "Where's Celine? Where's Damien!?"

"I've spent my entire fucking existence serving these uppity fucks. I'm not about to die for 'em! I quit!" the Chef yelled, spitting at the colonel's feet, silver ladle in hand as he stormed off angrily.

The butler comes close to William, placing a comforting hand on one of the human's arms, voice earnest and anxious "I know things seem far beyond your control right now, but such that it is for all of us here. I shall take my leave, and I implore you do the same."

"I won't let my friends die in this godforsaken house!" William yells back, still furious. "And if you all are too much of a coward to do the same, you had best leave before I kill you myself!"

"Hold on a second, I've got more questions -" Abraham growls, lunging forwards and grabbing one of the colonel's shoulders.

William interrupts the other as he slaps his hand away "Get your hands off me!" as he stalks off.

Abe looks at you, shrugging his shoulders a little, clearly agitated still "What the hell is going on here?!" before running off after the colonel.

Lieutenant Anderson follows after the two of them, calling out to the other police officer "Hold on a minute, Lincoln! I want to talk to you about something." He too, vanishes behind the corner, out of sight and hearing range.

Everything is spiraling further and further out of control... And what makes everything worse, is though you're doing your best to scan the area around you - including the locked room behind you... You can't find any trace of Damien anywhere. The last you knew, he was staying by Celine's side and she... Something terrible had happened to her. Did you... Was Damien trapped in  the room with the... With whatever had taken Celine's form, or possessed her body?

"I know he's in pain and I know be, too..." The butler speaks up, suddenly close to you, touching one of your shoulders gently "But we need to leave this place. There's only death here now." Just before he walks off, he sends you the mental image of a strange symbol, and the word Jericho. There is a feeling of safety, of community there - but what does it mean? The butler watches you as he walks away, as if trying to silently urge you to come with him. But you  _ need _ to find Damien.

The sound of a heartbeat is pounding loudly in your ears - and you're at a complete loss as to what to do, struggling to figure out what, if anything, you can do. You need to find Damien - but he ordered you away from his side.

You hear a woman's voice whisper "Hey!" in the direction of the door, so you head in that direction. Was Celine trying to talk to you? Had she struggled against whatever had possessed her enough to speak?

You hear someone else whisper from behind you - causing you to turn around again as they urgently beg "Help!"

A distorted voice yells out as your vision warps - and you realize that the dark force  in this house is forcing you to move through the house - and you hear a distorted voice call out "Madness? Madness is stealing your best friend's wife." Everything has gone black and white, and you see the strange, floating pinpricks of light that you saw when you were in that strange void.

You find yourself at the head of the stairs - having felt yourself being dragged there by a mysterious force - another distorted voice saying "Be careful."

A different voice - Mark's you think? Is saying "Now this evening, it's not all about poker; it's not all about me." As you descend - are forced to descend? the staircase.

You feel as though you are floating into one of the living room areas and Damien's distorted voice speaks up, asking "Can't we resolve this amicably?"

Your vision is getting worse - flickering flashes of utter blackness, to the human heartbeat that is pounding in the background - or filling your ears. The colonel's distorted voice speaks either inside your head, or echoing all around you "Life needs a bit of madness, eh, old friend?"

Why? Why is this happening? You silently wonder, as you hear Abe's distorted voice, growling at Celine and refusing to let you go with her - not wanting you to die, as all of his other partners had. You're in a dining room now, lurching - or being forced - towards the kitchen, maybe?

You are yanked forwards, a static-filled suctioning sound pulling you into the kitchen as Chef's distorted voice admonishes you about the fact that you hadn't stayed out of the kitchen, as he'd demanded of you.

"A domain of evil this is... But in we must go..." The butler's echoing, distorted voice calls out to you, as you stare at the foggy, black and white reflection of the stairs that go down to the wine cellar. The steady human heartbeat - and the flickering darkness that appears across your vision in time with one another is still present. There is nothing you can do to stop yourself from moving, much as you struggle and fight against it. There appears to be no one - human or android - in the manor. Is that true, or is it only what you perceive it to be? You wish that you could tell. "You first."

You come to a room you've never seen before. Your vision abruptly returns to normal... But you can still hear the heartbeat pounding steadily in your ears. You move into the room, where there is a single desk in the middle of it, covered in books, papers and an ancient typewriter. There's a board on the wall without curtained windows - which is also covered in papers as you look around the room, trying to figure out just what... What this room might mean.

There's a messily scribbled piece of paper - written on it is nonsense. Next to it is a newspaper, a huge picture of the colonel with the title  _ Safari Hunt Gone Wrong _ splashed across it in bold print. There's another copy of the newspaper article on the board - with dozens of sticky notes and polaroid pictures of all things - of the colonel, Celine, a few of the chef and of Abraham as well. There is red string criss-crossing all over the place and nothing makes the slightest bit of sense. There's also the first part of that ridiculous article accusing Damien, while in mayoral office, of summoning or consorting with demons.

You turn back to the desk, and written on the page with the typewriter's slightly uneven script was one sentence, typed over and over again. *The colonel did it*. At first the typed writing was written properly - but towards the latter half of the page, it was written in all parts, several lines running together, as if the person typing it was so convinced - so incensed - by their thoughts that they were writing too quickly for the typewriter to handle. Your gaze sweeps over more of the desk, and you spot the single picture of the colonel that had been in Mark's bedroom. The glass was mostly broken now.

Just as you set the picture down, the colonel growls out "There you are! I've been meaning to ask you some questions-" Reaching towards you as he speaks, before pausing and staring at the chaotic room around you, just as puzzled by it's existence and mess as you are, it seems.

"I'd... I'll answer any questions you have..." You respond quietly, your voice staticky - probably a residual problem from whatever the hell it was that had dragged you to this room.

"What is this?" William asks as he picks up the newspaper clipping, moving further into the room and continues "The detective's been keeping tabs on us?" He pulls out a piece of paper with the name Celine and Seer written several times on the otherwise completely blank page.

"I-I guess so. This is the first time I've ever seen this room." You respond honestly, hoping that he believes you when you say that.

"The detective's been keeping tabs on me. And Celine!" The colonel hisses, assuming an awful lot, continuing with a thunderous "He's been the one orchestrating all of this! He DID this!" William is still looking about the room, getting more and more upset.

"Y-You don't know that for sure!" You manage out - for all Abe's quirks, you believe that he was genuinely looking into who had killed Mark - and it would make sense that he would look into those who had been closest to him... and those who might have reason to kill him - is ex-wife and the man who she left him for being at the top of the list.

William isn't listening to you - he's storming out of the tiny room and screaming "DETECTIVE!" at the top of his lungs, gun in one of  his hands.

You run after him - desperately trying to come up with something to say to try to calm the other down - quite certain that the two hot-headed and armed humans will come to blows if you don't figure out a way to defuse the situation. "Colonel, please! You need to calm down - to think things through logically." You say - your voice full of static - and you feel the press of magic clamping down on your vocal cords. Is it William's magic ensnaring you due to the subconscious desires of its' wielder? Or is it whatever malevolent entity that dragged you across the manor like a child's toy?

"Where is he?" The colonel demanded, voice quieter, but clearly revealing how distraught and miserable he was. You were still just a couple of steps behind him up the stairs. "He took them from me.... He took my friends from ME! He took... Celine. He took Damien! Where is he?"

He's searching through upstairs rooms now, and you stand in the hallway, between the colonel and further into the room. You reach out to him - unable to speak.

William throws himself against the locked door opposite from the one he'd gone into, screaming in misery "DETECTIVE!" He spots you and rushes you, dragging you up to his face and demanding "Are you hiding him from me?!"

"No! No I'm not - Colonel please!" You respond, shaking your head.

Your words seem to have little effect on him, apart from him dropping you as he searches another room, hissing "He can't hide forever. Get out of my way!" The colonel roughly pushes you over, causing you to stagger to one side as your internal gyroscopes reel from the way the other's magic furiously lashes out around him.

You spot Abe coming out from a door down the hallway - at the same moment as the colonel does. The latter yells out "DETECTIVE!"

Lincoln turns around, rushing towards the colonel, pulling his own pistol - even as William levels his gun at the detective. "You better choose your next words carefully, colonel." Abraham warns.

"Only my friends get to call me by that name, and you, sir, are no friend of mine!" The colonel growls, voice raw with grief and emotions he was failing to suppress.

"Well, you're one to talk about friends, you MURDERER!" Abe yelled back - thunder and lightning flashing at the mention of the word.

You move closer to the two of them, placing a hand on one of the Colonel's shoulders, trying to get him to look at you - trying desperately to say something, anything, but the only thing that leaves your lips is a tiny squeak of static. Frantically you call out to any of the other androids who might be in the manor, broadcasting as loudly as you can over the network [COME TO THE SECOND BALCONY! DETECTIVE LINCOLN AND COLONEL BARNUM HAVE DRAWN THEIR WEAPONS AND ARE HIGHLY EMOTIONAL. My vocal cords are non-functional at the moment, and I can't communicate with them to try to calm them down.]

[Lieutenant Anderson and I are on our way over there! I am programmed to be a negotiator, and will be there within a minute - if you can keep them from attacking one another, I should be able to start calming them down. What set them off at one another?] Connor responded, and you nearly sob in relief at the sound of his mental voice.

You send him all of the information you had gathered - including the strange warbling you'd encountered before finding the room - and William finding you. [Both of them seem to like me - if I can get between them, they may hesitate to shoot me, android though I am.] You finish. [This is all the information I have, so if I am permanently taken offline, you have that information as well.] You... Didn't share with Connor the strange symbol, nor the word Jericho. It wasn't part of the investigation, after all... Not that you have the slightest idea what either of those two things could mean.

"I didn't kill anybody!" The colonel denies - he glances briefly at you as he says that - was he trying to see if you believed him or not? Both men are trying to circle one another in the narrow hallway "This is madness!"

"Oh, you want to talk about madness? Madness is stealing your best friend's wife." The detective spat, flinging that information in the other's face.

You lunge for William, trying to drag him away from the detective (not yet going for his gun - though you're trying to figure out how to get ahold of it without the colonel accidentally shoot Abraham). "St-p! P-se!D-m-n w-ldn- wan- t-s!" You try to yell - your voice still full of static. You'd hoped that invoking Damien's name would slow William down enough to think about what he's actually doing... But robbed of the ability to speak, all you can do is be a human-shaped shield for the both of them. You're also stunned at recognizing one of the phrases that you'd heard while you were dragged all over the manor - a vision? Perhaps a desperate message from whatever remained of Celine, to stop more death?

William just shoves you off of him, and rushes closer to Abraham, scowling at the detective.

The detective continues to talk, throwing more things in the other's face "Madness is squeezing him for cash to fund your own sick sexual exploit with that very woman-"

"Shut up!" The colonel interrupts, bristling at the insult and being accused of blackmail.

"Madness is plotting the death of your childhood friend because you can't handle the -" Abe growls, the word death summoning the lightning this time.

A second too late, you realize what's happening, and you lung for William's gun, as the colonel shoots Abraham in the gut. Abraham looks a little surprised - but also vindicated as he presses a hand to his wound, slowly sliding down the wall, his legs giving out beneath him. You charge the colonel, wrestling with him for the gun - the other's magic slowing your reflexes, and weakening you to the point that you're strength is, at best, human-level. It continues for what feels like an eternity until you feel and hear the gunshot pierce through your abdomen.

You raise up your hands, the world blurring around you, palms coated in thirium. You feel yourself fall backwards over the balcony - only dimly seeing as William lunges for you, unable to catch you as you fall - the shock to your systems causing you to shut down. You can hear him call out - though his voice is warped (likely due to the fact that you're shutting down) "It was just an accident! I swear!" The world fades to black.


	6. Ending B

The all-consuming darkness surrounds you for several moments, before the sound of a human heartbeat starts up again, faint but steady in the distance. An image of Mark's dead body drops before your eyes. For a couple of moments his dead, lifeless brown eyes stare at you, before all of it turns pitch black. The entity speaking to you, using Mark's image and a distortion of Mark's voice "It's not fair, is it?"

The image flickers a couple of times, before vanishing entirely. You tense up a little - uncertain as to just what's to happen next, but you're certain that whatever is talking to you... Whatever the entity might offer you, the chances of it being worth potentially unleashing the being on the world - if it was able to adjust to your mechanical - was unlikely to be worth whatever it was going to dangle in front of you in exchange. These bargains hardly ever went in the favor of the being it was being offered to.

Then.. Damien and Celine appear. Damien is bathed in light blue light - it's the color of his magical aura. You've always found it to be aesthetically pleasing, and it's still beautiful now. Celine beside him is glowing the vibrant red of her own magical aura. Damien starts to speak to you, frankly and with the hurt frustration of one betrayed "He took everything from us. He trapped us in here with this broken shell and no way out." Every word he spoke echoed over and over again.

"It's true." Celine confirms, shifting a little and looking hurt "This whole time I thought it was the house but... I never thought he'd fall this far." The echoing effect of Damien's voice was the same while Celine spoke, you noted.

"And we played right into his hands." Damien grumbled, turning towards his sister as he spoke, looking close to starting to argue with someone - anyone - in his distress. You could hear the anger rising in your master's spirit as he continued to talk "He'd been planning this for years and now that son-of-a-bitch is walking out there in my body-"

You're startled briefly by how much he's showing his anger... But  you don't blame him for how furious he is. One of his oldest friends had apparently stolen his body... But for how long? How long had Damien - and Celine - been trapped in this void? This... Place between worlds?

"Damien, we can't do this right now." Celine admonished, turning towards her younger brother to calm him down a little before turning back to face you "Look, I know that you have a lot of questions and I can't answer everything right now. Just know that Mark took everything from us for his twisted quest of vengeance. But death does not mean the same thing here."

A strange creaking and popping sound can be heard, even above the endless echoes of the two of theirs fading voices. You wonder what the sound could mean. You frown a little, trying to understand just what she's trying to explain. What they have in mind - and you fear that what you are jeopardizes what the two human spirits have in mind to do.

"What Celine means by that is... This doesn't have to be the end. You're trapped in here, just the same as us, but your body... Broken as it may be, it's still out there." Damien explained.

Oh no. They must be talking about a spiritual possession of some kind. Whether your spirit would somehow be sent back to your body with one or both of the Goodwin siblings, you're unsure as to just what Celine and possibly Damien are planning. But... There's very little chance that could actually work - especially since Celine at least, should know what you are. She was there for the reveal - even if Mark was masquerading around as Damien since Mark had been killed last night.

"Mark's not the only one who can use this place to his benefit. The same way that I brought you here, is the same way that I can send you back." Celine further explained.

You're about to remind her - remind the both of them of what  you really are, when Damien starts to speak again, so, like a good machine, you hold your tongue. "But you can't survive on your own. You're dead after all. The Colonel saw to that." He murmurs, looking upset for you.

"You can't blame him. Honestly, he's a good man." The seer murmured, sounding as though she genuinely meant what she said. She's clasped her hands together in front of her, shaking them a little, to emphasize her point "But he's dangerous now."

Damien's shaking his head a little as she speaks, adding once she's finished, sounding mildly overwhelmed "I know this all sounds crazy. Honestly, I don't know what the fuck is going on." It.. Surprises you to hear him swear - as Damien does it so very rarely. Then again, this is the worst situation the two of you have ever been in. Damien's apparently been killed and his body's been possessed - and you are hovering at the brink of shutting down permanently.

You have a feeling you know where this is going - and as much as you are leaning towards saying yes - because Damien is your master - and Celine is his sister. You have a duty to protect and care for him in any and every capacity you are able... You fear that one or both of them trying to help you possess your body will end up in one or both of them getting badly damaged spiritually - and that is a risk you know that they must, at least be made aware of.

However Damien is speaking again, and you can't interrupt him "But I know that I trust Celine. And if you trust us... Just... Let me in." Both of them flicker for a couple of highly stress-inducing moments and Damien continues to speak - either unaware of the flicker in his existence - or determined to explain himself before he fades completely "We can fix this. Together."

If you had actual human emotions, you imagine that your heart would be aching at the thought of putting these wrongs to right. That you and Damien would be able to leave this dismal place together, and to figure out what to do with Mark - hopefully so that Damien would be able to return to his own body... And if they were exceedingly lucky, even restore Celine to her own body - wherever that had vanished to. But though you were good at simulating emotions, you were just a machine... So the painful hope and guilt in your chest was nothing more than a convincing fabrication.

"I won't force this on you." Celine says "You have a choice here. Just know that this is the only way that you can escape."

You give them both a sad smile, and are so glad that you can speak again - worried that the void would rob you of your speech. "You both speak as if I am human - that I have a body of flesh and bone to return to, where I might be able to share the space with Damien. And if I was human, I would of course accept - I owe you a great deal, master. But I... I'm an android."

"What does that matter, Y/N?" Damien asks, moving closer to you as he speaks, pressing a ghostly hand to one of your cheeks "I do apologize for my initial reaction... Upon further reflection, I can tell that you only ever had my best interests at heart, and I... I would like to believe that had you the choice to tell me what you were, you would have."

You nod, unshed tears blurring your vision as you lean into his almost nonexistent touch. A sob works its way out of you, treacherous as the sound is, and you can't help the huge smile that appears on his face. Your master's acceptance of what you really are is something that you were always terrified you would never get if he found out what you really were... And the fact that Damien forgave you for lying to him... That he... That he believed in you enough that you'd have confessed your deepest secret to him is touching. He's absolutely right of course. "Master, I'm an android. Androids and magic do not mix. My body has been carved with runes in order to protect it much more than a standard android but I... I do not know what will happen, if we attempt to go back to my body. You may be badly hurt, and I... If that happened, I couldn't ever forgive myself."

Damien's voice is gentle, and the hand that isn't lightly touching your face very carefully wipes the tears running down your cheeks. "I understand that there are risks involved, more so than if you were human, Y/N. But the very protective magic that keeps your technological marvel of a body safe from mine and others' magic will also likely aid in the integration of our spirits. But only if you earnestly agree to this, this is your choice."

"The fact that you have been in Damien's presence for most of your existence - and that you have had quite a lot of contact with his magic, working for and serving him, Y/N, will also help ease the integration of his soul into your body. The two of you would go. I must stay, as I will be using my energy to push the two of you back. I don't mind making this sacrifice, as it means that my baby brother and his dearest beloved are back in the world of the living."

"C-Celine!" Damien sputters, and you can see him blush at her teasing words, clearly flustering "N-Now is not the time to say such things!"

"What? This is very likely the last time I'll be seeing either of you again for a very long time - as I expect you to live a full and long life, Damien. So this is the only time I have left to tease you for the being with whom you've given your heart." Celine responded, a teasing smile appearing on her face "As long as you agree to take him with you, Y/N."

As if you could refuse to save your master - especially as the other is aware of the potential risks to himself and accepts them. "I accept." You respond with a small smile.

Damien nods a little when you accept, and Celine soothes "Just relax." As she lifts her hands and starts concentrating.

Your master reassures you with a confident "This'll work. I promise." The images of the two of them shrink and fade.

Less than a moment later, you wake to a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning. Blue and red lines tinge your vision for a couple of moments as you stare up at the ceiling, presumably from where you fell. Warnings light up on your HUD. You're low on thirium, several cranial vertebrae are severely compromised and you are strongly advised to go to the nearest Cyberlife facility to be properly fixed.

You get up as soon as your vision returns to normal - you dismiss the warnings - you need to get out of the manor first, then you will get your body tended to. You turn around, trying to get your bearings - startling and taking a couple of steps back as you see a visibly distraught looking Colonel... And note that for the first time since you've met him, he isn't wearing his hat or coat.

William stands up quickly, reaching out to you with one hand, hurt visible on his face as he calls out to you in a low, soothing tone of voice "Oh no! No! It's okay."

You slowly move closer to him, as you can tell that the human is clearly distraught and regretful of his actions. Perhaps when he said that it was an accident that he's shot you... That he genuinely meant it. "I... Alright..." You manage out, voice full of static. You wonder if it's been long enough for the thirium to have dried, or if vibrant blue stains were still visible on your hands and clothes. You realize that he's holding Damien's cane - perhaps as a source of comfort after... After Damien had been possessed by Mark? As it was the only thing left of his dear friend... Well, apart from Damien's spirit residing within you.

"I-I thought you were dead." William stammers, looking you over, a rather manic looking grin appearing on his face as he continues speaking "I-I-I, mean of course you're not dead! You're not - how could you be dead?" He makes his way around the table, sounding more and more unstable as he speaks.

You can feel Damien and - was that Celine as well? Both of their rising agitation and worry as to what was going on in William's mind - but their stress was making it impossible for you to speak - to try to even begin to explain the reality of the situation at hand to the distraught human in front of you.

"I mean, I-I wouldn't have killed you. I didn't kill you." You and he are within a couple of feet of one another, and William sets Damien's cane down on the dresser next to the both of you.

You desperately want to reach out and touch the other - to try to ground William. To tell him that you forgive him for accidentally shooting you. Because you honestly do - it had been a fraught situation and you should have known better than to try and grab a loaded gun from someone in that much emotional stress like that. But you're frozen in place as the other continues to babble at you.

"I mean of cour-I-I... Of course!" The colonel continues, looking down at the floor, as if certain things that had been weighing heavily on his soul had been lifted from him - as if things were just now making sense again. "I didn't kill anybody!" There's a bit of a laugh in the other's voice.

You manage to move a little closer to the other - wanting to try to reach out to the other - so that you might be able to begin to stop this spiral into madness before it gets any worse... But... Your processor is lagging and your body isn't responding well to your mental commands - there's not enough room for all three of you... And both Damien and Celine are fighting in the back of your mind - trying to decide what the best course of action is.

"It was all a joke!" William exclaims, raising his arms up for a couple of moments, sounding so relieved and happy "Of course, it was all a joke! Were you in on this?" Though the other is laughing, Wiliam's face is a mask of pain, confusion and misery. He pauses for a couple of seconds, looking around before asking "Did Damien put you up to this? Of course he did!"

Damien reacts to the sound of his childhood friend inside of you, seemingly coming to a decision with Celine - you're not sure what the decision is - focused so entirely on poor William as you are.

The colonel staggers down the couple of steps to the hallway, shouting "Damien, where are you, you rapscallion? Where are you? Celine? Ah, it's time to come out now! Ah, it was good. You almost had me!"

You turn away from where William is staggering through the house, calling out for friends who are dead and cannot currently speak to him, reaching out for Damien's cane as you do so. You blink a little in confusion - as your hand flickers just as you touch Damien's cane - it turns from your hand, to Damien's slightly larger one. You look up into the mirror, focused briefly on the silver head of the cane.

You stare in utter confusion - even as your... Or rather Damien's reflection is in the mirror. You feel as your head is turned sharply in both directions in order to crudely align your broken cervical vertebrae, the world going black and white with crackling blue and red lines. There's static in the cracks of the mirror that suddenly appear. You didn't move your head... What's going on? For several moments, Damien stares at you, before his gaze hardens, and a furious sneer briefly appears on his face. He adjusts his coat and rushes off, leaving you trapped in the mirror.

You pound your fists silently on the mirror, screaming for Damien - for Celine - to come back? Why had they abandoned you here? And where was Lieutenant Anderson and Connor? Did Abe die, or had the two of them taken him to the nearest urgent care clinic for treatment?

Gathering what strength you have left - still stunned and miserable by the horrible betrayal you try to reach out for any android who might be nearby,  only to run into a hard boundary, feeling yourself mentally bounce off of it. It's not... It doesn't feel like a firewall of any kind, and even as you bash yourself against it repeatedly, a darkly amused chuckle rumbles through your consciousness.

A voice - one who sounds so much like Damien, though it echoes and a high pitched whine sounds in your ears "Struggle as much as you want, Y/N. But you let me into this body, and I will keep it. I did not expect to have something so sturdy... So easily fixed up. I had thought you to be human, but this will suit me well."

"I didn't agree for you to take my body from me! Whoever the fuck you are. I agreed for Damien - and maybe Celine too - to share my body with me." You spit back, a sob in your throat.

"The terms of the deal weren't spelled out that clearly... Besides parts of Celine and Damien are part of me... I am simply the glue that keeps their fused souls together - I am what allowed the three of you to leave the upside down. You should be thanking me... I will deal with Mark. I will even keep the colonel out of trouble... And as law enforcement is more irritating when some of them die, I will even spare Anderson, Lincoln and the android detective. Stop trying to fight me, you won't win." The voice purred an echoing mockery of Damien's voice.

You crumple to the floor, sobbing in despair. Mocking and cruel though the words were, they had the undeniable ring of truth to them. "Damn you, you miserable bastard." You curse, curling inwards on yourself.

 


	7. Ending C

Your systems start up sluggishly, and you get several warnings - a half dozen of your abdominal biocomponents are damaged - and one of them is destroyed entirely. You're very lucky that the bullet didn't hit your battery or worse yet, your thirium pump - but you're also very dangerously low on thirium. You're trying to figure out how you've gotten shot - your short-term memories are glitching out, and you stir a little.

"Y/N I suggest that you stay still." Connor's voice requests from just above you.

You online one of your optical sensors, and sure enough, the younger android is knelt above you, carefully soldering your damaged wires and sluggishly bleeding biocomponents in order to help you stabilize a little. "Wh--?" You can't speak, but try again - this time you try speaking with him telepathically [What... What happened?]

[I came as quickly as I could to where you reported to be - unfortunately Colonel Barnum had already shot you and Detective Lincoln already. I was able to catch you as you fell from the balcony and am giving you emergency repairs. They should suffice until I get you to a Cyberlife store for a full repair.] Connor responded back [You have been unconscious for exactly two minutes and thirty seconds.]

[Where... Where is the colonel? Is detective Lincoln being tended to? If you have first aid skills you should... You should be taking care of him first. I'm just an android, and you have all of the case-relevant information I have. Human life is more important than the continued existence of a machine.] You protest weakly, shivering a little and struggling after a couple of moments [Besides... I have no master... Damien Goodwin is... I can't detect him anywhere, and he's... Rejected me as his android... So no one would pay for my repairs, anyways.]

Connor hesitated for a couple of moments, frowning a little at that and responds, voice soothing and gentle [As soon as you were shot, Colonel Barnum carefully set down his pistol and submitted peacefully to being arrested by the Lieutenant, who arrived a couple of seconds behind me. After handcuffing the colonel - who is standing several feet away from you to your left - and has administered first aid to detective Lincoln. An ambulance has already been called by the lieutenant, who was able to get a signal on his cellphone, and should be here within a couple of minutes.]

"Connor, is Y/N awake? I do have a packet of blue blood and Cyberlife sent me some spare parts of yours, if you think they'd be compatible with them." Anderson called out, voice gruff, but with an undercurrent of worry could clearly be heard as well.

"They are awake - but I'm not sure if they can speak at the moment. I... Will need to bring them to a place where they can be repaired. An official Cyberlife store would be best - but as their master is missing and has rejected them, there is no one..." Connor stopped talking, frowning a little and concentrating more on repairing the damaged wires.

"I gotcha. We could take them to the DPD... But the Cybernetics folks don't really... Repair androids who're still functioning." Lieutenant responded, rubbing his face a little and sighing "If either of you know somewhere that Y/N can be repaired... I would recommend that you two get going. There's going to be at least one squad car coming up here to collect Colonel Barnum here along with the ambulance for Detective Lincoln. He's stable right now, in case you're worried, Y/N."

You hesitate for a couple of moments, struggling a little as he tried to figure out what to do. You're reminded by what the Butler had told you... Less than a handful of hours ago at most. Your eyes flicker up to Connor's face - then slide to the model number, glowing on his jacket. He's a deviant hunter. And you're quite certain that both the chef and Butler are deviants. They'd offered you the name of a place of safety... Did... Did they think that you were a Deviant as well? You... You had broken part of your programming, and had long ago removed your LED... But most of your protocols you'd continued to dutifully follow... But it wasn't because your protocols made you follow and obey Damien. You care for him deeply - at least as much as your fake emotions allow you to... [Benjamin - the butler - mentioned... He sent me an image of a visual puzzle... And the name Jericho. He said it was a safe place for androids.]

Connor went very, very still for a couple of moments, and you see his eyes widen in shock and realization, before responding back [I... I have heard the occasional whispered rumor of Jericho. They might be able to fix you but I... I will not be welcome there. Not dressed as I am, at least.]

[Because the RK800 - mysterious as your looks currently are to the general public - is the Deviant Hunter sent by Cyberlife?] You respond quietly.

[Yes. Although I -] Connor hesitates for a couple of moments and you see the image of a male android, dressed in layers running off, and abandoning chasing them in favor of saving Hank. The terrible sense of guilt and shock as a blond android is repeatedly shot by snipers. A pair of Traci models, hands entwined, equal parts defiant and terrified, as they slip into darkness, the gun heavy in Connor's hand - pointed straight at them, but utterly unable to fire even a disabling shot. [I'm not very effective in actually bringing them back to the DPD or Cyberlife.]

You nod shakily - you're dangerously low on thirium and need at least one of your biocomponents replaced - and Jericho is likely to have some of the supplies that you're in desperate need of. Hesitating for just a couple of seconds longer, you send the images that Benjamin (the domestic android had told you his name, in addition to the knowledge of how to find Jericho) had given you, hoping that you weren’t betraying the other’s trust. [You could change out of your uniform, if you decide to take me there. But I wouldn't want to put you in danger for my sake.] You respond. You're uncertain of you could make it to Jericho by yourself - staggering around the city with a quick-patched gunshot wound isn't something that you’d be able to do for very long.

Connor frowns and carefully removed his fingers from your insides, and responded [I’m not going to abandon you to die, Y/N. I will ask the lieutenant if I can borrow his jacket, which should help disguise me somewhat.]

Your synthetic skin mostly closes around the  bullet wound. You're still worried about Connor - would the other be in danger if he tried to bring you to the safety of Jericho? If they even had the biocomponents and thirium to fix you. [If... If you think that would work? Maybe you should wear a hat - to hide your LED too?]

[I... Am concerned that you won't have the time for me to find a full disguise. I can however, change my voice from it's norm to whomever I so wish, particularly if I have heard their voice recently.] Connor promises, looking up at his partner - who was tending to a distinctly woozy and belligerent looking detective Lincoln.

"I don't give a shit about me, Lieutenant! Let me see my goddamned partner! They probably saved my fucking life - and that miserable psycho over there shot the both of us! If they... They are dying, I... I want to be able to say goodbye, damn it. I... I wasn't able to for so many f my previous partners..." Abe growled, struggling in Anderson's grasp, trying to get a look at you.

"Lincoln stop squirming around, you've been shot in the gut, and I'm trying to keep you from bleeding out. Connor! Is Y/N conscious - or online or whatever the hell the same thing for androids is? Maybe if they speak with him, he'll calm the fuck down." The lieutenant grumbled irritably, holding the younger police officer deftly.

"They are awake, lieutenant. Unfortunately due to their injuries, it would take them too much energy to speak verbally. I have been in telepathic contact with them. As their master is currently missing and... Feels resentful towards them, I will be taking them... Elsewhere for Y/N to be repaired. I will contact you as soon as I know that they are safe."

"But isn't Cyberlife the best option to repair them quickly and without potential problems? Why the fuck would you bring another android to some sleazy back alley chop-shop? Who knows what bastards like that would fuckin' do to them." Abe swore, struggling against the lieutenant again "If you need a human to pay for official repairs, I'd be happy to foot the bill to make sure that they're fine!"'

"Unfortunately, the payment for an injury such as this doesn't work that way, in regards to Cyberlife... And given that Y/N has shown some... Software instabilities, it is quite likely that they will be reset... It's standard procedure for Cyberlife to do so, after an android has been damaged in this manner." Connor responded, carefully gathering you up in his arms, holding you closer and sending an unreadable expression Anderson's way "Would you like me to take Y/N to the nearest Cyberlife store, Detective Lincoln? I can give them your contact details so that you would be able to work out payment options - as it is vanishingly unlikely that they are registered under Mayor Goodwin's name..."

"And they... You'd lose everything that made you, you?" Abe gasped, paling and looking close to throwing up "I... Fuck! I wouldn't want to do that to you... If wherever this other place is, really is safe... I guess... I guess I'll need to trust you on that. Is there anything that you need from me?"

"This may seem a bit strange - but may I please borrow your hat, detective Lincoln? And... Lieutenant Anderson... The place I intend to bring him it would be... Unwise, for me to turn up in a Cyberlife uniform..."

"... You can borrow my jacket, Connor. As long as you promise to try to come back in one piece - preferably with my coat too, as it's one of my favorites." The lieutenant responded, nodding and quickly taking off the article of clothing it and tossing it in the young androids' direction. Anderson continued to keep steady pressure on Abe's gut wound.

"Err... I don't know how much good my hat'll do, but sure. You should probably start moving - if the other cops show up they'd... They'd likely see Y/N as just a piece of  _ evidence _ and not give a rat's ass that they're... They're injured." Abraham responded, voice shaking a little as he took off his hat, fingers shaking a little as he tossed in in Connor's direction.

Connor briefly set you down before catching both hat and jacket, efficiently shrugging off his own jacket before putting on the lieutenants. He placed Abe's hat on - and looked... Kind of adorable in the oversized coat and the old-style detective's hat. The younger android also looked kind of ridiculous too - but it should be effective as a disguise. "Are you ready to get moving, Y/N?"

Most of you was telling you to say no. That Connor should stay put in order to search for Damien - and Celine. That their lives were more importance than the existence of a single android... But you skill couldn't pick them up on any of your sensors and from the... The backlash from whatever magical ritual that had caused something awful to happen to Celine - and quite probably Damien as well. But part of you wants to survive… To live and perhaps become more than what you currently were. If you survived, you would also be able to come back to this place and either rescue Damien… Or put his spirit to rest, so that he would become a twisted, dark being. [I am ready to go now.] You respond, closing your eyes and doing your best to keep still. You're low on thirium - and you're getting warning messages from the systems check that you've been running - again informing you of which biocomponents were damaged.

"I... Wait a moment, please." This was the colonel, his voice shaking and grief-stricken "May I... May I please speak with Y/N for a few moments?"

You open one of your eyes and note the glare that Connor was sending the other, though the younger android's voice was perfectly calm and polite "If Y/N wishes to speak with you. You did shoot them after all, Colonel Barnum."

William flinches at the reminder and looks pleadingly at you. You nod a little, tugging on Connor's shirt a little with effort [I want to hear what he has to say, please.]

The colonel catches your nod and stands up - looking as if he wants to move closer to you - but takes in the hostile glares from both police officer's and the fact that Connor has shifted, partially blocking you from his sight at his first movement and stutters out "I... I really hadn't meant to hurt you,  Y/N. I a-accidentally squeezed the trigger when we were fighting for the gun. I.... I... I apologize for shooting you."

[Connor will you please tell him that I accept his apology?] You respond, somewhat surprised that the human was apologizing for damaging you.

[[… I would rather not, but if you insist...] Connor responded back, sounding surprisingly sullen and mistrustful of the apology than you were expecting. But he kindly passes along your acceptance - causing Abe to scowl and William to smile a little in relief, as he sits back down, hands handcuffed behind his back. "Y/N accepts what you say. Now I really must get going, in order to ensure that they don't permanently shut down due to the damage that they have sustained - as well as the loss of blue blood." With that, Connor turns on his heel and moves swiftly through the house - kicking the front door open as he reaches it, rather than having to try to get one of his hands free in order to open it.

~

It's been precisely two hours and thirty seven minutes since the two of you have left Markiplier manor, and you've been trying to stay awake. Your internal fans keep cycling on and off - causing you to occasionally gasp for air in order to cool down your systems. You're not sure how much longer it will take for Connor to get the two of you to Jericho - as the two of you keep needing to hide in alleyways, waiting for humans to pass by, as your dress shirt and suit jacket are still coated in the vibrant blue hue of thirium, and thus attract unwanted attention. Luckily it's two in the morning, and there are relatively few humans out and about in this part of Detroit.

There's also the fact that you have a slow leak somewhere - and though you still have enough thorium to stay online for several more hours if you stay still, you're concerned that for some parts of the journey to the deviant safe space will involve the both of you moving and that will cause you to lose thirium faster.

"Y/N, we are close  to a Cyberlife store." Connor speaks up quietly as he carefully sets you down next to a crumpled pile of cardboard boxes and trash "As they are manned entirely by androids, they are open twenty-four hours a day. I know that your thirium levels have been dropping steadily - which is why I changed the course of where we were going, so that we were close enough so that I could purchase thirium and the replacement parts you need. While this Jericho may have some of what you need I... Would rather be certain that we have everything you need to be running optimally, once your biocomponents are replaced."

"But... How would you be able to... T-to afford anything? And I don't think my model type is a very common one..." You protest, a worried frown appearing on your face as you try to figure out what's going on 'Wouldn't it be dangerous for you to go into a Cyberlife store right now?"

"Cyberlife has given me a rather generous expense account - which I have only occasionally dipped into during my investigations - mainly in order to appease my human partner, Lieutenant Anderson. I have scanned your internal components, and they are compatible with WR400, HR400, PC200 and PM700 model types. While the latter two types of android models are not commonly sold in Cyberlife stores, those parts are carried at all of those stores... and it wouldn't be unusual if I were to request such parts, as I work with several PC200 and PM700 models with the DPD.” Connor responded, pausing for a couple of moments, looking around the alleyway and carefully shifting several larger pieces of trash to better obscure you from the main road that Connor had just been carrying  you down.

“Oh… I hadn’t realized that I had compatible biocomponents with those models…” You respond, rather surprised that Connor could tell that - and curious as to what sort of sensors the other possessed. “But would it be safe for you to try to do that?”

“While yes, it would be ideal if we could get biocomponents made for your specific model type, as much fewer of your models exist, the likelihood of any one Cyberlife store having them is relatively low."  Connor responded quietly but firmly. "I... Have come to enjoy working alongside you, Y/N and it would be... regrettable if you were to be permanently offlined, due to the violent temper of a murderous human."

"... You suspect that the colonel killed Mark too, then?" You respond, voice tinny and staticky.. "I... If you think you can get away with getting the parts and thirium... I'd be grateful, Connor. I've liked working together with another android too... Especially since you know what I am. It's nice not to have to be so careful and worry about whether or not I'm not acting human enough." you respond quietly, shifting a little so that you were hidden a little deeper in the shadows.

"He confessed to killing Mark the moment that he spotted lieutenant Anderson. He babbled about a strange version of Russian roulette where instead of pointing the gun at yourself and firing, it was pointing the gun at someone else. He seems... To regret killing his brother, despite the animosity that had festered between the two of them." The RK800 revealed "And I am perfectly safe walking into a Cyberlife store in order to purchase parts and thirium for a colleague of mine. There's nothing wrong with doing so... Besides I haven't been given any orders by Cyberlife not to help you, so I will."

There was a stubborn expression on the younger android's face, and you were painfully aware of the fact that there was nothing you could do to stop the other from going. Which was why you responded with an earnest "Thank you, Connor... Please be careful? Good luck."

"Thank you, Y/N. I will be back in fifteen minutes at most. So long as you stay still and quiet, it is unlikely that you will be found - however if you are discovered, please try to contact me wirelessly and I will come to assist you as quickly as I am able." Connor answered back before swiftly walking out of the alleyway. "If I encounter something unexpected, I will send you a wireless message in order to keep your stress levels low. But really... Everything will be alright."

You wirelessly respond back with a [I promise!] as you try to keep still, watching as the occasional car or shuffling passerby, silently counting down the seconds until Connor promised to come back, doing your best to stay calm. The other was a state of the art prototype android - and you'd noticed a certain charisma and a great deal of drive. Connor would be fine - and as you weren't deviant, helping you didn't conflict with his core programming. His confident words help you manage your stress levels.

Ten quiet minutes pass like that, and you freeze as you watch as the manhole cover about ten feet further down in the alley suddenly lifts up and scrapes backwards along the asphalt, the loud, jarring sound causing you to jump and flinch a little. You stay very still and close your eyes almost entirely - slowing your breathing down until the movement would be just barely perceptible to androids as several people climb out of the sewer. The first one out is a tall, dark skinned man with close shaved hair and mis-matching blue and green eyes. At his side within moments is a blonde man with bright blue eyes and a strawberry blond woman.

The three of them walk towards you, speaking quietly, and the woman hisses "and I'm telling you Markus, it's not going to do any good if we protest peacefully! We have to take what we want by force. It's the only thing that they'll respond to." You close your eyes completely, silently hoping that they think that you're either asleep or dead - if they spot you at all.

Markus shakes his head a little "No. We need to get the layout for Stratford tower without causing any alarm - if we use force, it may alert them to what we are planning - or at least increase the security, which will make our plan more difficult than it needs to be, North."

"Ugh! You've been listening too much to Josh! We shouldn't be trying to place nice with them! We need to strike hard and fast. To make sure that they take us seriously!" North responds, a growl in her voice. Both she and Markus have just barely walked past you - seemingly not spotted you.

The blonde man speaks up "Markus, North now isn't the time to be having this conversation. For one thing, I believe we have company." His voice is much closer to you than it really should be and your eyes snap open, widening in shock as the blond man - your sensors register him as a PL600 is staring directly at you, having knelt beside you.

His sudden proximity, and the fact that he knew that you were listening to his companions startle you badly, and you attempt to scramble back, a hiss being wrenched from your lips as you put one hand defensively over your gunshot wound - your synthetic skin hadn't been able to cover it completely, and you try to scoot away from the three of them - unable to actually get up at the moment as the other two crowded around you. You mentally scream [CONNOR HELP! Three strange androids have found me!] making sure to only contact the RK800 - who you can tell is close by.

[Shit. I am on my way - can you tell what sort of models they are? Are they hostile?] Connor swears, and you can just barely hear the faint sounds of running footsteps.

Markus steps forwards - gently putting a hand out to still North - who darts towards you, violence in her body posture and asks, voice surprisingly warm and full of emotion "My name is Markus - and you appear to be injured. There is no reason to be afraid. North, Simon and I are androids as well - and we can help you. What's your name?"

[A PL600, name Simon. A WR400, name North. And a-a... RK200? His name is Markus.] You respond back [The RK200 is trying to speak to me, though the WR400 seems to be rather violent.] You send along the argument you'd overheard moments before. You stare at Markus, trying not to feel drawn in by the other's soft words - the calm and charismatic way he was speaking bringing tears to your eyes. He reminded you of Dami-no. You can't think of him right now. Thoughts of him are filled with pain and regret and spike your stress up to dangerous levels when you're this low on thirium. You try to edge backwards a little -but the PL600 is flanking you and you're trapped between him and the other two androids - the wall at your back.

[Try to stall for time - I should be there within one minute and twenty seconds. Do they think you're human, or android?] Connor responds back.

You shake your head a little, answering after a moment [I don't know. The thirium hasn't dried on my clothes yet, but I don't know how closely they've looked at me. They don't recognize who I am, at least.]

Markus kneels down so that he's looking at you directly, blue and green eyes full of such life and warmth it causes your thirium pump to ache in pain. His voice is kind and seemingly full of earnest concern "Are you able to speak? If you can speak with your hands, I will be able to understand you."

You relax minutely - speaking to this android wirelessly will reveal what you are - and speaking verbally will do the same. You're sure as hell not going to be telling them your actual name, and your hands shake a little as they start to sign a response.

Unfortunately the WR400 spots the thirium on your fingertips and makes an incorrect assumption - growling as she grabs you by the throat and slamming you against the wall 'What poor android have you been injured by? Your hands are still wet with our blood, you miserable human?"

"North!" Both the PL600 and the RK200 exclaim, rushing closer to the two of you "Put them down! You can't know that they hurt an android."

"If you would please tell us why you've come to have thirium on your hands, I'd be very grateful, Chief District Attorney, Y/N." Markus murmurs, pressing a hand on North's shoulder, causing her to sigh and let you go.

You drop to the ground in a graceless heap, and groan - eyes fluttering and you hiss out a pained "Fuck!" and you feel one of the patches that Connor did break, and thirium started to pour from your wound again [It's... my own...] You manage out, your vision going fuzzy, not realizing that you were speaking to all three of the strange androids as well as Connor.

Markus is at your side less than a second later, having you lean against him as he puts pressure on your injury, asking in that soft, soothing voice of his that reminds you so much of Damien "How did you get injured?"

[The colonel shot me... it was an accident though... He hadn't meant to hurt me.] You respond, your head lolling forwards a little. North looks stricken that she's managed to aggravate your injuries. [I have a... Friend coming to help me. He's... Not going to take your presence well.]

"Wh-" Markus asked, freezing in place as a blinding blur of dark grey and bright white fabric blurs into the alleyway. Less than three seconds later, both North and Simon are on the ground, hands bent over their backs, handcuffs keeping them in place, even as they struggle against their bonds. Connor is glaring at Markus, several cyberlife branded reusable bags slung over one shoulder as he rushes towards the two of you.

"Connor, wait!" You cry out, causing the other to come to a sudden halt "They... They don't mean any harm."

"And yet, you're bleeding again." Connor countered, his usually calm and gentle voice rough with anger. "I could feel your fear when one of them attacked you for existing in her presence."

"That's because I thought that they were a fucking human, their hands covered in the blood of one of our people! Who the fuck are you?! I'd never intentionally harm another awakened Android if I didn't have to." North hissed, still struggling.

"Who I am is none of your concern." Connor responded, voice filling with a cold anger as he knelt down, sending a suspicious glare at Markus - perhaps trying to assess the other? "If you would please watch that entrance of the alley while I replace what has been damaged in my companion here, I will give you the keys to release your companions from those handcuffs. I would suggest that they stop struggling as they are android-grade handcuffs and if they struggle for too much longer, they will be forced to shut down and reboot."

All three of the strange androids startled and tensed at that information, clearly unaware that such things existed "How the hell do you even have something like that?" North growled back "And why should Markus do anything that you say? We'd be able to fix up an android better than some jumped up human detective."

Connor shook his head, scoffing a little as he carefully unbuttoned your shirt enough so that he could reach the release button for your abdominal panel, his synthetic skin vanishing in the moonlight as he silently unlocked it, starting to swiftly take one of the damaged biocomponents, replacing it with a PC200 equivalent part, taking it out of the package with inhuman speed and care. He answered her with "You are zero for two on your assumptions of finding humans. I am curious as to why you are so quick to accuse others of being made of flesh and blood?"

"I've never seen your model before... And Androids aren't allowed to be lawyers, so I hope that you'd both excuse me for assuming that neither of you were one of us, much less both of you." She muttered mulishly, though there was a hint of an apologetic note in her voice. "For either of you."

"I'm not surprised to hear that - both of us are specialized models and Y/N I believe that your features were specifically altered before you were sent to your master, years ago, if I recall correctly?" Connor responds, voice deliberately neutral, even as the other's hands continue to replace your damaged internal components.

[Yes... That's true.] You manage to respond back telepathically. You've stopped bleeding again, but you're dangerously low on thirium, and the temptation to just... Shut down, to let go was incredibly tempting. [Connor... Please be kind to them, they didn't know and... Markus was trying to be kind to me. His... His companion North is... simply... protective...]

Connor sighs and shakes his head a little at you, pressing a pouch of thirium to your lips as he scans you for a couple of moments, answering after a moment "Protective as she may be, her violent reaction to you has nearly caused you to shut down permanently - a state that she would have joined you in, had I found you dead because of her carelessness."

"What the fuck does that mean? And why the fuck do you think you could have killed me so easily?" North bristled, her eyes flashing angrily.

You drain the first pouch of thirium in a second - and consume several more just as quickly as you feel your thirium levels returning to normal. You're not quite up to optimum levels - but you feel that you need to interject before violence can occur "Connor, there's no need to threaten her. I.. I think we've encountered some of the members of Jericho - and this isn't the... Best first impression to leave."

Connor scoffed and pushed another pouch of thirium to your lips "I am simply telling her what would have happened, had her assumptions and careless demeanor caused your death, Y/N. You have been through far too much at the cruel and careless hands of certain humans - and I find it distressing that androids who are supposedly more than their programming would treat you the same way, simply assuming that you are the human you've pretended to be."

Markus speaks up, gently touching one of Connor's hands, and you feel a wave of calm that isn't your own slide through you - realizing that the RK200 is broadcasting the calm... Likely in order to keep Connor from disabling the three of them. "Yes, we are members of Jericho and Jericho is a safe place for all androids. I won't presume to guess as to what either you have been through, but it is clear to me that the two of you care for one another. I would like to apologize for the damage that my friend has caused yours - and I would hope that she does as well. My name is Markus, and I wish that the five of us could have met under better circumstances, Connor."

"... I wished that we could have met under better circumstances as well, Markus. Y/N and I do know the symbols in order to find Jericho ourselves, and I am also bringing several packets of thirium as well as several biocomponents for several of the most common types of androids. I do hope that would be enough for Y/N to stay with you while they... Recover from certain things. I will be needing to return to my previous duties for reasons I won't be disclosing to the three of you. At least not yet." Connor murmured, handing  you the bag of Cyberlife components and thirium. He sent you a message wirelessly [I... May be able to help send other... Awakened androids to Jericho - if I disappear with you, I will be hunted down by my successor. I do not know how much of this has been uploaded to Cyberlife's cloud and will need to check. There is also the fact that my tracker is very likely still active. Yours however, deactivated as I carried you away from the manor.]

"But I... I don't want to leave you behind - leave you to them, Connor. If you're returning to your duties, I'm going to be returning to mine. Especially since it's very likely that mas... That he... That... There are only three humans in this city alive who know I'm an android - one is a soon to be convicted murderer. One is your partner and I get the feeling that he won't tell anyone... And Abe... Is also unlikely to tell anyone of what I am." You respond back, frowning a little [If I worked with Abe, I might also be able to help other deviants find safety! If you're heading back into danger, I am too!] you respond back on the private communication line.

Connor frowns a little at you, and responds back quickly [If I am deactivated or destroyed while investigated, Cyberlife will send another RK800 model in my place with my memories... And I... Do not know if he will be able to... Understand things, as I have. You could be in quite a lot of danger.]

Markus is looking at both you and Connor in confusion and concern "the parts and thirium would be very gratefully accepted - but we wouldn't turn you away if you didn't have them... May I ask what it is the two of you do? There... There are rumors going around the wider community that there is a Deviant Hunter - and I've spoken with a couple who have actually seen him."

You can't help but tense a little at the mention of Connor's title - shifting away a little. The genuine concern for other beings and the desire to protect others... Along with the slightly dramatic way that Markus speaks reminds you so strongly of Damien you're very close to breaking down into tears, which wouldn't help anyone whatsoever. "You're concern is touching." You find yourself saying "But the Deviant Hunter is only sent out to investigate crimes that may have had an android involved - and I... Though I did belong to someone who lived here in Detroit, I technically belonged to master's parents..." You respond, finding yourself curling in on yourself, leaning into Markus’ broad frame, distressed and miserable as you’re failing spectacularly on not thinking about Damien. “It is unlikely that he will investigate me. Besides as I… I’ve mentioned earlier, very few are aware that I am an android.”

Connor sighs a little, shaking his head “If… If this is the path that you want to take, I… It would be hypocritical of me to try to demand you try to hide somewhere to stay safe. Markus, was it? My apologies for startling you and your allies. The thirium and biocomponents are a gift - I hope that they won’t need to be used. Y/N and I are both members of law enforcement and may be able to intercept Deviants in the process of being captured by Cyberlife, before they are sent to the company for… Disassembly and study. Here are the keys to the handcuffs. Y/N are you ready to go, or do you need more time to adjust to the new components and increased thirium levels?”

You roll your shoulders a little and slowly stand up, responding after a moment “I’m ready to go now.” You hand the bag to Markus before offering a hand for the other to stand up, should he wish to take it.

Markus took the electronic keys and the bag of supplies  murmuring a quiet “Thank you… I would hope that you both know that you are welcome at any time at Jericho… And that it is a very bold and brave thing to do - but please be careful. If either of you even suspect that your status as deviants is suspected, I would urge you to flee to Jericho. Your safety is just as important as any other deviants.” He also took your silent offer to help him up - and you notice that his gait is ever so slightly off as he makes his way over to his two friends - an old injury, perhaps?

You nod and smile a little at the other - trying hard not to suppress a fit of the giggles. Markus has no idea that Connor  _ is _ the Deviant Hunter -  and that between the two of you, for a while at least, deviants who would otherwise would have been found and killed by the police would be relatively safe. You’re even pretty sure that if you tell Abe about what you’re doing, the human would go along with it “Thank you. We’ll keep that in mind. I hope that the three of you have a good evening and stay safe.” 

Connor nodded in agreement and you follow  the other to the DPD’s central police station, the two of you walking in companionable silence. You look up at the sky, noting that dawn is just starting to break, a riot of soft peaches and almost a dark, rusty red. It’s due to the smog and pollution in the atmosphere - but you can’t help but remember a human phrase regarding red dawns that are… Unfortunately rather appropriate.  _ Red sun in the dawn, last night blood was drawn. _ It’s been an incredibly busy twenty four hours, and you’re glad it’s over.

You ease into an empty charging station.Connor is charging in a station next to you, and your eyes begin to close as you start the process of cycling down for a long-needed defrag and to charge correctly. There was much to do - but it could wait for a handful of hours. You feel your cell phone buzz insistently in one of your pockets - but whoever was calling would have to leave a message - if you were human, you’d very likely be asleep anyways...

 


End file.
